THE  GIFT  OF 

MAY  TREAT  MORRISON 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

ALEXANDER  F  MORRISON 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE 


BT 

WILLIAM   ELLIOT   GRIFFIS,   D.D.,  L.H.D. 


IN  Two  VOLUMES 


VOL.  II. 

BOOK  II.  — PERSONAL  EXPERI- 
ENCES, OBSERVATIONS,  AND 
STUDIES  IN  JAPAN,  1870-1875 

BOOK  III.— SUPPLEMENTARY 
CHAPTERS,  INCLUDING  HISTORY 
TO  THE  BEGINNING  OF  1903 


ILLUSTRATED 


TENTH  EDITION 

WITH   SIX    SUPPLEMENTARY   CHAPTERS 

INCLUDING   HISTORY   TO    BEGINNING   OF   1903 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 

NEW    YORK    AND    LONDON 
1903 


Copyright,  1876,  1883,  1886,  1890,  1894,  1895,  1898,  1903,  by 
HARPKR  &  BROTHKRS 

All  rights  reserved. 


T>S 

835 


v. 


BOOK   II. 

PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES,  OBSERVATIONS,  AND  STUDIES 
IN  JAPAN.    1870-1871 


429085 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JfrPAN,     , 

THE  longest  unbroken  stretch  of  water  statedly^traverse^by  the  keel 
of  steamer  or  sailing  vessel  lies  between.' Calif oraia.a/idjapjin.  .The 
floating  city,  which  leaves  its  dock  in  San  Francisco  at  noon  on  the 
first  day  of  each  month,  pulses  across  four  thousand  miles  of  ocean, 
from  which  rises  no  island,  harbor,  or  reef.  Nothing  amidst  all  the 
crowding  triumphs  of  the  genius  and  power  of  man  so  impresses  the 
reflecting  mind  as  the  thought  of  that  mighty  ark,  which,  by  the  mag- 
net and  the  stars,  is  guided  in  safety  to  the  desired  haven.  Without 
a  Noah,  without  dove  or  olive  leaf,  freighted  with  bird,  beast,  and  fish, 
and  often  with  thirteen  hundred  human  souls,  over  a  flood  of  waters 
that  cover  a  world  beneath,  alone  for  weeks,  that  ark  floats  on,  at  the 
bidding  of  the  master. 

Twenty-seven  days  in  the  solitudes  of  the  sea  seem  long  to  the  man 
of  this  decade,  who  crosses  the  Atlantic's  thousand  leagues  in  nine 
days,  and  the  New  World  in  a  week.  Even  the  old  traveler — whose 
digestion  is  sea-worthy ;  whose  appetite  is  like  a  whetted  saw ;  who 
meets  a  host  of  genial  fellow-birds  of  passage,  and  finds  officers  who 
will  answer  questions ;  who  discovers  new  and  readable  books  in  the 
ship's  library ;  and  who  delights  in  the  study  of  steerage  ethnology — • 
yearns  in  his  secret  soul  for  the  sight  of  land  again.  Even  the  ocean 
scenery,  though,  like  God's  mercies,  new  every  morning  and  fresh  ev- 
ery evening,  palls  on  the  eye,  and  loses  its  glory  before  the  thoughts 
of  the  crowded  city  in  which  comforts  cluster  and  pleasures  bloom. 
The  waves  that  daily  cradle  the  infant  sun  and  pillow  his  dying  splen- 
dor, the  effulgence  of  the  cavernous  sunsets,  the  wonders  of  spouting 
whales,  flying-fish,  phosphorescence  at  night,  "  multitudinous  smiles  " 
of  waves  by  day,  the  circling  gulls  evermore,  or  even  the  fun  of  bury- 
ing a  day  (Saturday,  December  16th)  under  the  180th  meridian,  would 
be  gladly  exchanged  for  a  patch  of  farm  or  the  sober  glory  of  a  wide- 
spreading  oak.  Often,  indeed,  the  monotony  of  the  voyage  is  relieved 
by  meeting  one  of  the  company's  steamers.  If  the  weather  be  fair, 


328  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

the  pillar  of  cloud,  or  the  long  thin  scarf  of  black  smoke,  descried  afar 
off,  is  the  harbinger  of  the  coming  ship.  The  exchange  of  newspapers 
and  the  sending  homeward  of  letters  are  accomplished,  to  the  intenso 
delight  of  passengers  jaded  with  ennui. 

Thus  met  in  placid  mid-ocean,  on  Sunday,  December  llth,  1870,  the 
P.  M.  S.  S.  Co.'s  steamers  Great  Republic,  Captain  J.  H.  Freeman,  from 
San  Francisco,  and  the  Japan,  bound  to  San  Francisco,  from  the  land 
whither  we,  w,ere  bound.  All.  day  long  we  had  watched  the  smoke. 
At  5.30  p.'j^.'.a,' rocket -'w>a3. •Sent .'up  from  the  Japan.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments ojir  dinperTtable,was  deserted..  Within  a  stone's  throw,  the  pas- 
sengers .o.n;  cftfe^?  |sh;p  shputed'.tp  .e#ch  other.  The  stately  ships,  with 
scores  of  lighted  windows  gleaming  on  the  waters,  parted  at  seven 
o'clock,  one  moving  to  the  home-land,  one  to  the  Mikado's  Empire. 

The  meeting  of  steamers  in  mid-ocean  is,  strange  to  say,  a  matter  of 
dislike  to  a  certain  class  of  persons,  who,  in  spite  of  all  preventive  pre- 
cautions, keep  up  their  existence.  One  or  two  "  stowaways  "  are  found 
on  nearly  every  steamer  that  leaves  the  shores  of  either  continent. 
They  sneak  on  board  the  big  ship  while  in  port,  and  are  .driven  from 
their  lair,  when  at  sea,  by  hunger.  When  first  discovered,  the  inquisi- 
tor of  the  ship — the  purser — uses  all  his  skill  to  extort  the  full  passage 
money.  If  not  forthcoming,  the  "  stowaway  "  is  consigned  to  purga- 
tory— i.  e.,  the  fire-room,  and  compelled  to  pass  coal  and  feed  the  fires. 
This  process  refines  his  feelings  so  far  tha^  the  "  dross  "  is  produced, 
if  on  the  victim's  person.  If  he  refuses  to  do  duty,  his  fare  being  still 
unpaid,  he  is  put  in  irons,  but,  by  passing  through  purgatory  of  the 
furnace-room,  he  is  "  saved  "  from  further  punishment,  and  reaches  the 
paradise  of  firm  land,  "  yet  so  as  by  fire." 

All  these  incidents  and  accidents  of  sea-life  cease  to  have  any  im- 
portance after  the  oracle  at  the  head  of  the  table,  Captain  J.  II.  Free- 
man, has  announced  that "  we  shall  sight  Cape  King  at  day-break  to- 
morrow." We  try  to  sleep  well  during  our  last  night  on  the  water ; 
but  sleep,  so  often  won  and  long  embraced  thus  far,  becomes  fickle  and 
flies  our  eyelids.  With  joyful  wakefulness,  our  thoughts  are  busy  with 
the  morrow,  until  at  last,  in  the  wee  morning  hours,  our  eyelids  are 
sealed. 

I  wake  early  on  the  29th  of  December,  1870,  and  from  out  my 
state-room  window  behold  the  eye-gladdening  land  within  rifle-shot. 
Hilk,  crested  with  timber,  line  the  bay,  and  the  beaches  are  dotted  with 
thatched  huts  and  white  store-houses.  Fishermen's  boats,  manned  and 
moving  over  the  bay,  are  near  enough  for  us  to  distinguish  their  occu- 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN.  329 

pants.  Tall,  muscular  men,  with  skin  of  a  dirty  copper  color,  in  long, 
loose  dress,  their  mid-scalps  shaven,  and  the  projecting  cue  or  top-knot, 
of  the  percussion  gun-hammer  style,  are  the  first  natives  of  Japan  whom 
we  see  at  home.  Though  different  in  dress,  condition,  and  as  the  bar- 
ber left  them,  from  their  gay  fellow-countrymen  who  spend  plenty  of 
money  and  study  hard  in  the  United  States,  they,  nevertheless,  exactly 
resemble  their  brethren  in  physiognomy  and  general  appearance. 

The  dayspring  in  the  east  sifts  enough  of  suggestive  light  over  the 
land  to  entice  us  into  the  belief  that  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun  is 
one  of  the  fairest  on  earth — a  belief  which  a  residence  of  years  has 
ripened  into  an  article  of  faith.  To  the  right  lie  the  two  mountainous 
provinces  of  Awa  and  Kadzusa,  with  their  numerous  serrated  peaks 
and  valleys,  which  may  be  beautiful,  though  now  they  sleep.  To  the 
left  is  the  village  of  Uraga,  opposite  which  Commodore  Perry  anchored, 
with  his  whole  squadron  of  steamers,  on  the  7th  of  July,  1853.  Re- 
maining eight  days  at  this  place,  he  was  accorded  what  he  first  de- 
manded— an  interview  with,  and  the  reception  of  President  Fillmore's 
letter  by,  an  officer  of  high  rank.  After  the  ceremony,  he  gave  the 
place  the  name  of  Reception  Bay,  which  it  still  retains.  Now  we  pass 
Perry  Island,  Webster  Isle,  and,  on  the  opposite  side,  Cape  Saratoga. 
We  must  not  forget,  mournful  though  the  thought  be,  that  hereabouts 
beneath  us,  perhaps  under  our  keel,  lies  the  United  States  war  steam- 
er Oneida,  which  was  run  into  and  sunk  by  the  British  mail  steamer 
Bombay,  January  23d,  1870.  This  is  sad;  but  the  sequel  is  disgrace- 
ful. Down  under  the  fathoms  the  Oneida  has  lain,  thus  far  undis- 
turbed, a  rich  and  grateful  Government  having  failed  to  trouble  itself 
to  raise  the  ship  or  do  honor  to  the  dead.  The  hulk  was  put  up  at 
auction  and  sold  (in  1874),  with  certain  conditions,  to  a  Japanese,  for 
fifteen  hundred  dollars.  This  is  the  one  sad  thought  that  casts  its 
shadow  over  the  otherwise  profound  memories  of  which  the  Gulf  of 
Yedo  is  so  suggestive  to  Americans.  The  prominent  geographical 
points  in  the  bay  echo  familiar  American  names,  which  later  geogra- 
phers and  a  cosmopolitan  community  have  ratified,  and  which  com 
memorate  American  genius,  skill,  a  id  bloodless  victory. 

The  ship  moves  on,  and  the  panoramic  landscape  unfolds  before  us. 
In  the  background  of  undulating  plains,  under  high  and  close  cultiva- 
tion, and  spotted  with  villages,  rise  the  crumpled  backs  of  many  ranges 
of  mountains ;  while  afar  off,  yet  brought  delusively  near  by  the  clear 
air,  sits  the  queenly  mountain  in  her  robes  of  snow,  already  wearing 
the  morning's  crown  of  light,  and  her  forehead  gilded  by  the  first  ray 


330  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

of  the  yet  unrisen  sun.  Beyond  her,  in  the  purple  air,  still  glitter  the 
jewel  stars,  while  her  own  bosom  trembles  through  many  changes  of 
color.  Far  out  at  sea,  long  before  land  is  descried,  and  from  a  land 
area  of  thirteen  provinces,  the  peerless  cone  is  seen  and  loved.  Per- 
haps no  view  is  so  perfect,  so  impressive  for  a  life-time,  so  well  fitted 
to  inspire  that  intense  appreciation  of  nature's  masterpieces,  whose 
glory  and  freshness  we  can  feel  intensely  but  once,  as  is  the  view  of 
Fuji  from  an  incoming  steamer.  From  vast  outspread^  base,  through 
mighty  curves,  sweeping  past  snow,  and  up  to  her  summit,  the  mount- 
ain is  visible  in  queenly  solitude  and  fullness  of  beauty.  Gradually 
the  vast  form  is  bathed  in  light,  and  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun  stands 
revealed  in  golden  glory.  It  is  a  joy  to  have  seen  it  thus  at  first  vision. 
From  serene  and  ancient  Fuji,  we  turn  to  behold  the  bustling  up- 
start metropolis  of  the  foreigners  in  Japan,  as  it  appears  in  full  daylight. 
Passing  Mississippi  Bay  and  Treaty  Point,  we  arrive  in  front  of  what 
was  once  a  little  fishing  village,  but  which  is  now  the  stately  city  of 
Yokohama.  We  count  the  craft  that  lie  anchored  in  the  harbor. 
From  thirty  to  fifty  are  usually  in  port.  Steamers  from  Hakodate, 
Shanghae,  and  Hong-Kong,  and  the  regular  mail  steamers  from  Mar- 
seilles and  Southampton,  lie  at  their  buoys.  Here  are  wooden  war- 
ships and  iron-clads,  from  which  fly  the  British,  French,  Japanese, 
German,  or  American  flags.  A  tremendous  amount  of  useless  and 
costly  saluting  is  done  by  these  men-of-war,  whom  the  country  folks 
call  "  boom-  boom  fune"  Coal -hulks,  store-ships,  and  all  the  usual 
evidences  of  an  old  harbor,  are  discovered  all  around  us.  The  town 
itself  seems  compactly  built  of  low  houses,  with  tiled  roofs.  They 
are  usually  two-storied,  though  many  are,  in  the  language  of  the  East, 
"  bungalows,"  or  one-storied  dwellings.  The  foreign  settlement  seems 
to  be  arranged  on  a  plain  about  a  mile  square.  The  Japanese  town 
spreads  out  another  mile  or  more  to  the  right.  Beyond  the  plains  is 
a  sort  of  semicircle  of  hills,  called  "The  Bluff."  It  is  covered  with 
scores  of  handsome  villas  and  dwelling-houses,  of  all  sizes  and  varieties 
of  architecture.  To  the  left  the  Bluff  runs  abruptly  into  the  sea. 
To  the  right  it  sweeps  away  to  the  south-west.  In  local  parlance,  the 
various  parts  of  Yokohama  are  distinguished  as  "  The  Bluff,"  "  The  Set- 
tlement," and  the  "  Native  "  or  "  Japanese  "  town.  Along  the  water- 
front of  the  settlement  runs  a  fine,  wide,  well-paved  street,  called  "  The 
Bund,"  with  a  stout  wall  of  stone  masonry  on  the  water-side.  Private 
dwellings,  gardens,  and  hotels  adorn  it,  facing  the  water.  There  are  as 
yet  no  docks  for  the  shipping,  but  there  is  the  English  and  the  French 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN.  331 

"  hatoba."  The  former  consists  of  a  stone  breakwater,  or  piers,  rising 
twelve  feet  or  so  out  of  the  water,  inclosing  a  large  irregular  quad- 
rangle, with  a  narrow  entrance  at  one  corner.  The  land -side  of  the 
English  hatoba  is  furnished  with  steps,  and  a  score  or  more  of  boats 
can  discharge  their  passengers  at  once.  The  French  hatoba  consists  of 
two  parallel  piers  of  stone  projecting  out  into  the  bay.  The  building 
of  most  imposing  ugliness  from  the  sea-view  is  the  British  Consulate, 
and  near  by  it  is  the  American.  The  Japanese  Sai  Ban  Sho,  or  Court- 
house, is  larger  than  either  of  the  consulate  buildings,  and  much  hand- 
somer. At  the  other  extremity  of  the  settlement,  toward  the  Bluff, 
was  the  French  camp,  and  near  by  it  the  English.  Three  hundred 
French  soldiers  guarded  as  many  French  civilians  resident  in  Japan, 
and  three  hundred  English  marines,  who  relieved  the  Tenth  British 
foot — the  same  that  served  their  king  on  Bunker  Hill — were  in  camp 
in  Yokohama  in  1870,  and  remained  until  1875. 

The  engines  stop,  and  the  great  ship  lies  motionless  at  her  buoy. 
Instantly  the  crowd  of  boats  which  have  waited,  like  hounds  in  the 
leash,  shoot  toward  the  stern  ports  and  gangway,  and  the  steamer  be- 
comes walled  in.  First  of  all,  the  United  States  mail-boat,  propelled 
by  six  native  scullers,  is  flying  swiftly  shoreward,  to  satisfy  the  eager 
souls  of  the  elect  with  its  precious  freight.  Friends  throng  on  board 
to  meet  friends.  Englishmen  ask  the  news — whether  there  is  to  be 
war  with  Russia?  French  and  Germans  eagerly  inquire  for  the  latest 
news  from  the  seat  of  war.  From  one,  I  learn  that  the  Japanese  Gov- 
ernment has  already  issued  a  proclamation  of  neutrality,  for  French 
marines  and  German  sailors  have  already  come  to  blows  in  Yokohama. 
Fancy  creatures  in  velvet  and  diamonds,  with  gold  on  their  fingers 
and  brass  in  their  faces,  hasten  to  see  whether  any  of  their  guild  have 
arrived  from  San  Francisco. 

Leaving  deck  and  cabin,  we  visit  the  steerage.  The  coal-lighters 
are  crowded  with  dirty  coolies.  They  impress  us  as  being  the  lowest 
of  their  class.  Their  clothing  is  exceedingly  scanty.  An  American 
lady  with  good  eyesight  supposed  them  to  be  clad  in  very  tight  leath- 
er-colored garments.  On  second  sight,  wondering  at  the  perfect  fit  of 
the  dress,  she  found  it  to  be  the  only  clothing  which  mother  Nature 
provides  for  her  children.  The  proprietors  of  the  native  boats  have 
entered  the  ports,  and  are  driving  a  brisk  trade  in  oranges  and  various 
articles  of  diet,  precious  only  to  Asiatics.  Huge  dried  persimmons, 
which,  though  shrunken,  are  four  or  five  inches  long,  and  sake,  are 
very  salable.  A  squad  of  the  Chinese,  so  numerous  in  Yokohama,  are 


332  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

busy  in  furnishing  small  change  to  those  who  wish  to  go  ashore.  Jap 
anese  tempos,  and  iron  and  copper  cash,  are  exchanged  for  American 
dimes,  greenbacks,  and  Mexicans. 

With  the  kindly  aid  of  a  friend,  we  prepare  to  go  ashore.  Safely 
seated  in  one  of  the  clean  unpainted  boats,  in  which  we  detect  no  iron, 
but  only  here  and  there  a  elect  of  copper,  we  enjoy  the  glorious  beauty 
of  the  situation.  In  the  stern  stand  the  two  sendos,  who  inake  their 
keel  glide  over  the  waves  as  swiftly  as  a  Venetian  gondola  shoots 
under  and  out  from  the  Rialto.  Already  the  Japanese  boatmen  have 
beaten  in  a  race  with  the  American  tars.  Yonder  whizzes  a  butcher's 
boat,  freshly  laden  from  the  abattoir  below  the  city.  Six  naked  ath- 
letes of  magnificent  physique,  chanting  in  wild  chorus,  urge  on  their 
craft. 

Sculling  is  the  method  invariably  in  use  among  the  Japanese.  The 
long  scull  consists  of  two  pieces  tied  together.  On  the  handle  is  a 
pin,  on  which  a  rope  is  slipped,  so  that  the  scull  is  held  down  to  a 
uniform  height  while  being  worked.  The  blade  rests  near  where  it 
joins  the  stock,  on  an  outrigger  pivot.  The  sweep  of  the  stock,  at 
the  hand  end,  is  nearly  two  feet.  The  sends,  planting  his  left  foot  on 
an  inclined  board,  sways  his  arms  and  body  at  right  angles  to  the 
boat,  singing  meanwhile  one  of  his  own  songs,  in  his  own  way.  We 
soon  skim  over  a  half-mile  of  the  blue  water,  pass  the  United  States 
steamer  Idaho  and  the  Prussian  war-ship  Hermann,  and,  darting  within 
the  stone  piers,  land  on  the  hatoba,  and  are  in  the  mikado's  empire. 

The  custom-house  and  the  native  officials  detain  us  but  a  few  mo- 
ments. Passing  out  the  gate,  we  receive  our  first  invitation  to  part 
with  some  small  change  from  three  fat  little  urchins  in  curious  dress, 
with  lion's  head  and  feathers  for  a  cap,  and  with  red  streamers  hang- 
ing down  their  backs.  They  run  before  us  and  perform  all  kinds  of 
astonishing  tricks,  such  as  carrying  their  heads  beneath  their  feet,  mak- 
ing a  ball  of  themselves,  and  trundling  along,  etc.  By  our  financial 
dealings  with  these  little  street-tumblers,  we  learn  that  "  shinjo  "  means 
'l  gift,"  and  "  arigato  "  means  "  thank  you,"  which  is  the  beginning 
of  our  vocabulary  in  Japanese. 

The  fine  wide  streets  of  Yokohama  are  well  paved  and  curbed. 
The  hard  white-stone  and  concrete  pavements  are  able  to  resist  for 
years  the  rutting  action  of  the  sharp-edged  wheels  of  the  native  carts. 
These  wheels  are  ingeniously  constructed,  and  their  felloes  are  mor- 
tised in  segments.  They  need  no  tires,  and  have  none.  They  are 
propelled  by  four  powerful  fellows,  who  work  in  pairs,  and  have 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN. 


333 


scarcely  more  clothing  than  there  is  harness  on  a  horse.  The  fore- 
most pair  push  with  hands  and  thighs  the  front  cross-bar,  behind 
which  they  stand.  The  other  pair  supply  the  vis  a  tergo,  applying 
their  shoulders  to  a  beam  which  juts  out  obliquely  from  beneath  and 
behind  the  cart.  The  street  cries  in  every  country  attract  first  the 


Push-cart  in  Yokohama.    Hokusai. 


new-comer's  ears;  and  the  cry  of  these  cart  coolies  in  Yokohama  is 
one  of  the  most  peculiar  sounds  in  or  out  of  Japan.  I  never  after- 
ward heard  these  cries,  except  in  Yokohama  and  Tokio.  While  the 
two  men  in  the  rear  save  their  wind  and  vocal  force,  the  two  foremost 
coolies  utter  alternately  and  incessantly  a  coarse,  deep,  guttural  cry, 
which,  if  spelling  were  possible,  would  be  written,  "  Hai !  huida !  ho  ! 
ho  !  hai !  huida !  wa !  ho !  ho  !  huidah  !"  etc.  I  was,  at  first  hearing, 
under  the  impression  that  the  poor  wretches  were  suffering  a  grievous 
colic,  and  a  benevolent  inclination  seized  me  to  buy  a  few  bottles  of 
Mrs.  Winslow's  Soothing  Syrup,  and  distribute  them  on  the  spot.  On 
being  told,  however,  that  nothing  was  the  matter  with  the  men,  it  be- 
ing their  custom  to  yell  in  this  manner,  I  abandoned  my  intention. 

Rows  of  iron  lamp-posts,  with  lanterns  and  burners  trimmed  and  in 
cleanly  readiness,  tell  of  streets  well  lighted  with  gas  at  night.  Along 
the  avenue,  on  which  stand  the  British  and  American  consulates  on 
one  side,  and  the  Japanese  court-house,  bonded  warehouses,  and  police 
station  on  the  other,  are  sidewalks,  which,  along  several  blocks,  are 
thickly  planted,  in  a  breadth  of  ten  feet  or  more,  with  evergreens  and 
flowers.  Among  these  we  see  the  camellias  in  full  bloom.  The  main 
street  crosses  this  avenue  at  right  angles,  extending  from  the  Japanese 


334  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

town  to  the  canal  at  the  foot  of  The  Bluff.  The  sidewalks  on  it  are 
narrow ;  but  the  street  pavements  are  so  hard,  and  are  kept  so  clean, 
that  it  is  not  unpleasant  to  walk  in  the  street,  even  in  wet  weather. 
The  streets  in  the  foreign  settlement  are  paved,  curbed,  and  drained. 
Since  1874  they  have  been  lighted  with  gas,  from'  the  gas-works  of 
the  rich  merchant,  Takashimaya. 

Here,  for  the  first  time,  I  behold  that  native  Japanese  invention,  the 
product  of  a  Tokio  genius,  the  jin-riki-sha  (man-power  carriage).  It 
has  often  been  described.  It  is  a  baby  carriage  on  adult  wheels.  It 
holds  one  or  two  persons.  A  man  in  the  shafts  pulls  it ;  sometimes 
he  is  assisted  by  another  from  behind.  When  you  wish  to  go  fast, 
you  employ  two  men,  or,  you  may  drive  tandem  with  three.  Many  of 
these  sha  are  highly  ornamented;  for  art  is  appreciated  even  by  the 
lowest  classes  in  Japan,  as  a  residence  of  five  minutes,  and  afterward 
four  years,  concur  in  assuring  me.  Some  are  made  into  the  form  of  a 
boat,  with  a  chanticleer  for  a  figure-head.  Foreigners  and  natives  use 
them,  and  a  wag  from  Yankee-land  has  dubbed  them  "  Pull-man  cars." 

Main  Street  is  the  showiest  of  all — the  Broadway  of  the  "  New  York 
of  Japan."  Here  we  pass  fine  stone-fronted  stores,  banks,  hotels,  and 
restaurants.  The  magnificent  show-windows  arid  abundance  of  plate- 
glass  suggest  handsome  variety  and  solid  wealth  within.  These  outside 
displays  are,  in  most  cases,  but  true  indices  of  the  varied  articles  of 
merchandise  within,  which  arc  obtainable  at  very  fair  prices.  Nothing 
eatable,  drinkable,  or  wearable  seems  to  be  lacking  to  suit  the  tastes 
or  wishes  of  an  ordinary  man,  beast,  or  angel ;  though  we  have  heard 
that  the  entire  bevy  of  Miss  Flora  M'Flimsey's  cousins  in  Yokohama 
assert  most  strenuously  that  there  is  "nothing  to  wear"  at  any  time. 
Nevertheless,  to  man  or  beast,  the  abundance  and  variety  of  feminine 
paraphernalia  visible  in  one  of  the  shops  in  which  angelic  robes  are 
sold  is  simply  wonderful ;  and  one  notices  that  the  visits  of  the  angels 
to  this  place  are  neither  few  nor  far  between.  Craftsmen  in  the  finer 
arts  also  get  their  wealth  in  Yokohama.  Several  jewelers  display 
tempting  wares,  and  ply  a  brisk  trade.  Young  Japan  wears  a  watch 
nowadays,  and  thousands  are  sold  yearly  in  Yokohama.  Barber's  poles 
salute  us  on  several  streets,  and  one  may  be  shaved  in  French,  English, 
or  Japanese  fashion. 

Photographic  establishments  tempt  our  eyes  and  purse  with  tasteful 
albums  of  Japanese  costume  and  scenery.  First-class  eating -saloons 
await  their  crowds  at  the  hungry  hour.  The  several  auction  -  rooms 
seem  to  be  well  filled  with  native  and  foreign  purchasers.  Confection- 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN.  337 

ers  display  their  bait  for  the  palate.  Newspaper  offices  greet  us ;  law 
yers'  and  doctors'  and  dentists'  signs  seern  to  be  sufficiently  plentiful. 
Carriages  and  "  traps  "  add  to  the  bustle,  and  several  knots  of  Japanese 
fanners,  pilgrims,  and  new-comers  from  the  provinces,  staring  surpris- 
ingly at  the  sights  they  have  long  heard  of,  but  which  they  now  for 
the  first  time  behold,  are  met  as  we  pass  up  the  street.  French  Cath- 
olic or  Russian  Greek  priests  in  their  cassocks,  nuns  in  their  black 
robes,  well-dressed  Chinese,  Jews  from  every  nation  under  heaven, 
French  soldiers  in  blue,  British  soldiers  in  red  coats,  and  the  talkers 
in  a  score  of  different  languages,  are  met  with,  and  help  to  give  the 
town  its  cosmopolitan  character.  Main  Street,  however,  is  only  the 
street  of  shops,  shop-keepers,  and  the  usual  vulgar  herd. 

Let  us  turn  into  the  street  of  "hongs"  and  "merchants."  Be  it 
known  that  in  Yokohama,  and  the  Eastern  ports  generally,  the  dis- 
tinction between  a  merchant  and  a  shop-keeper  is  dire  and  radical. 
With  us  lay  folk  outside  of  the  trading  world  the  difference  is  small, 
and  not  always  perceptible  —  a  mole  -  hill,  at  the  least ;  but  in  these 
Eastern  ports  a  great  gulf  is  fixed,  socially  and  commercially,  between 
the  two  castes,  and  the  difference  is  mountainous.  With  us,  a  shop- 
keeper is  a  man  and  a  brother ;  in  Yokohama,  in  the  eye  of  the  clubs, 
and  with  the  elect  of  wealth,  fashion,  and  the  professions,  he  is  but  a 
heathen  and  a  publican.  Advertising,  the  use  of  a  sign  -  board,  and 
such -like  improprieties,  are  evidences  of  low  caste,  and  consign  the 
offender  to  the  outer  darkness,  far  away  from  happy  club  men  and 
select  visitors.  This  relic  of  English  caste  traditions,  rank,  and  class 
worship  is  not  so  strong  now  as  formerly,  but  is  sufficiently  potent  to 
cause  many  a  bitter  pang  and  many  heart-burnings  to  those  who  first 
experience  it  in  their  new  residence  in  the  East. 

The  street  in  which  the  "  hongs,"  or  large  business  establishments, 
are  situated  is  rather  gloomy,  when  compared  with  the  lively  Main 
Street.  Most  of  the  buildings  are  of  stone,  and  many  of  them  are  fire- 
proof "godowns,"  or  store  -  houses.  From  the  windows  of  the  "tea- 
firing  godowns"  issues  the  fragrant  aroma  of  the  new  crop  of  tea,  which 
is  being  "  fired  "  or  dried  in  deep  tin  basins,  over  charcoal  fires,  by  na- 
tive girls  and  women,  preparatory  to  packing  and  export.  Most  of 
the  largest  and  wealthiest  business  houses  are  owned  and  managed 
by  those  who  were  among  the  first -comers  to  Japan.  Many  of  the 
"  hongs "  are  branches  of  houses  in  China,  or  they  themselves  have 
agencies  at  Nagasaki,  Hiogo,  and  ports  in  China.  From  five  to  twenty 
young  men  form  their  clerical  staff,  backed  by  a  small  army  of  native 


338  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

porters,  coolies,  packers,  boatmen,  etc.  These  large  firms  control 
ly  all  the  export  trade  of  Yokohama,  and,  indeed,  of  Japan.  The  tea, 
silk,  copper,  rice,  etc.,  is  brought  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  though 
chiefly  from  the  West  and  North,  and  is  disposed  of  by  the  native 
merchants  through  brokers  and  "  compradores."  In  most  cases  the 
native  producer,  or  even  the  broker,  never  sees  the  foreigner  with 
whom  he  deals.  The  most  important  man  in  many  foreign  firms,  the 
power  behind  and  before  the  throne,  is  the  "  compradore."  This  su- 
perior being  is  a  Chinaman,  who  understands  enough  Japanese,  espe- 
cially with  the  help  of  the  written  Chinese  character,  to  deal  with  the 
Japanese  merchant,  producer,  or  broker.  He  is  the  provider  and  pay- 
master of  the  firm  in  its  dealings  with  the  natives.  He  arranges,  by 
and  with  the  advice  of  the  merchant,  the  purchase,  sale,  and  delivery 
of  merchandise.  He  hires  and  pays  the  Japanese  employes,  and,  being 
the  trusted  man,  is  a  creature  of  imposing  pretensions,  and  a  quasi- 
partner  of  the  firm.  His  facilities,  opportunities,  and  never -cloyed 
desire  for  "  squeezes  "  from  his  Japanese  clients  are  equally  abundant, 
and  he  lives  up  to  his  privileges.  Various  shifts  have  been  made  use 
of  by  the  Japanese  merchants  to  depose  this  obnoxious  middle -man 
from  his  position,  and  even  to  eliminate  him  entirely  from  mercantile 
transactions.  A  bold  attempt  of  this  kind  was  lately  made  by  the 
plucky  Governor  of  Yokohama,  Oye  Taku ;  but,  as  the  manner  of  the 
attempt  was  technically  illegal,  it  failed,  and  matters  still  remain  as 
they  were  before. 

This  aristocratic  and  highly  antiquated  form  of  doing  business,  in 
which  the  merchant  practically  holds  himself  aloof  from  his  custom- 
ers, is  an  inheritance  from  the  foreign  merchants  in  the  ports  of 
China.  Ignorant  of  the  language  of  that  country,  trusting  their 
affairs  to  a  "  compradore  "  who  spoke  pigeon-English,  they  lived  and 
grew  rich,  without  troubling  themselves  to  learn  the  language  of  the 
pig-tails  around  them.  Few  of  the  merchants  in  Japan,  to  their  dis- 
credit let  it  be  said,  have  seriously  endeavored  to  master  the  speech  of 
their  producers,  and,  being  ignorant  of  it,  the  "  compradore "  is,  in 
such  a  state  of  things,  a  necessary  evil.  This  old-fogy  method  of  do- 
ing business  must  in  time  give  way  before  the  enterprise  and  energy 
of  the  younger  firms,  who  refuse  to  employ  "  compradores,"  and  the 
members  of  which  are  beginning  to  acquire  the  language  of  the  people 
with  whom  they  deal.  There  might  have  been  excuses  to  the  first- 
comers  for  not  learning  a  language  for  the  acquisition  of  which  no 
teachers  or  apparatus  at  that  time  existed ;  but  at  the  present,  thanka 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN.  339 

to  American  missionaries  and  the  gentlemen  of  the  English  civil  service, 
an  excellent  apparatus  of  grammars, dictionaries, and  phrase-books  exists. 

The  four  great  steamship  agencies  at  present  in  Yokohama  are  the 
American  Pacific  Mail ;  the  Oriental  and  Occidental ;  the  English  Pen- 
insular and  Oriental  Steam  Navigation  Company  ;  and  the  French  Mes- 
sageries  Maritime  Paquet  Postes  Franyais.  The  Ocean  Steamship  Com- 
pany has  also  an  agency  here.  The  native  lines  of  mail  steamers  Mit- 
sui Bishi  (Three  Diamonds)  also  make  Yokohama  their  terminus. 
The  coming  orthodox  bridal  tour  and  round-the-world  trip  will  soon 
be  made  via  Japan  first,  then  Asia,  Europe,  and  America.  Already 
the  circum-mundane  tourists  have  become  so  frequent  and  temporarily 
numerous  in  Yokohama  as  to  be  recognized  as  a  distinct  class.  In  the 
easy  language  of  the  port,  they  are  called  "  globe-trotters." 

The  most  interesting  portion  of  Yokohama,  alike  to  the  new-comer 
and  the  old  resident,  is  the  Bluff.  Coming  to  a  port  opened  primarily 
for  trading  purposes  only,  one  expects  to  find  shops  and  store-houses, 
but  few  anticipate  seeing  such  dwellings  and  homes  as  are  to  be  found 
on  the  Bluff.  In  the  afternoon,  when  the  business  of  the  day  is  over, 
and  the  high,  grand,  and  mighty  event  of  the  day,  the  dinner,  has  not 
yet  been  consummated,  the  visitor  on  the  Bluff  sees  very  fine  speci- 
mens of  horseflesh,  good  turn-outs,  and  plenty  of  pedestrian  and  eques- 
trian humanity  out  for  fresh  air.  The  trim  door-yards,  lawns,  gardens, 
fences,  and  hedges  help  to  make  a  picture  of  unexpected  beauty.  The 
villas  and  dwellings  are  not  high,  being  bungalows  of  one  story,  or 
houses  of  two  stories.  Though  not  remarkable  as  architectural  tri- 
umphs, they  are  picturesque  without,  and  full  of  comfort  within. 
Added  to  home  attractions,  is  the  ever-present  lovely  scenery  of  the 
bay,  the  distant  mountains,  the  peerless  Fuji,  and  the  smiling  valleys. 
Nearly  all  the  professional  and  many  of  the  business  men  live  on  the 
Bluff,  and,  whether  from  the  natural  altitude,  the  inspiring  freshness 
of  the  scenery,  or  otherwise,  the  Bluff  dwellers  are  apt  to  consider 
themselves  of  a  slightly  higher  social  order  than  the  inhabitants  of 
the  plain.  The  Bluff  spreads  over  an  irregular  triangle,  and  its  sur- 
face is  rather  undulating.  Many  of  the  dwellings  are  snugly  embosom- 
ed amidst  groves,  or  on  the  slopes  and  in  the  hollows,  but  most  of 
them  crown  its  spurs  and  ridges  in  commanding  positions.  The  le- 
gations of  the  treaty  powers  were,  until  1874,  situated  in  especially 
choice  spots.  Strange  to  say,  the  foreign  diplomatic  representatives, 
instead  of  residing  in  Tokio,  lived  at  Yokohama,  preferring  society  to 
the  doubtful  charms  of  the  Japanese  capital. 


340  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

My  opportune  arrival  so  near  New  Year's,  and  the  custom  of  visiting 
being  enthusiastically  observed,  enabled  me  to  see  into  the  homes  of 
many  old  residents,  and  to  meet  most  of  the  social  magnates  and  men 
prominent  in  the  diplomatic,  literary,  commercial,  and  missionary  world. 
Among  others,  I  saw  our  hospitable  American  minister,  Hon.  Charles  E. 
De  Long,  the  Dutch,  French,  and  Danish  ministers,  and  several  consuls 
and  attaches.  Mr.  Portman,  formerly  secretary  and  interpreter  to  the 
American  Legation,  one  of  the  valuable  and  unrewarded  servants  of  our 
Government,  was  then  hale  and  gray,  living  alone,  not  knowing  that 
his  grave  was  to  be  in  the  Ville  du  Havre. 

Beside  the  legations  are  the  fine  American  hospital,  the  General 
and  British  hospitals,  and  the  public  gardens.  On  summer  evenings 
one  of  the  bands  from  the  flag-ships  stationed  in  the  harbor  plays  in 
these  gardens ;  while  flower,  beast,  and  bird  shows,  and  various  sports 
and  amusements,  fire-works,  etc.,  are  furnished  by  the  most  indefatiga- 
ble proprietor  that  ever  catered  to  public  taste.  Beyond  the  "  foreign 
concession"  of  land — that  is,  outside  the  limits  of  foreign  dwellings — is 
the  race-course,  an  ample  space  of  ground,  leveled,  fenced,  and  furnished 
with  buildings  and  spectators'  stands.  The  races  are  held  during  three 
days  in  spring  and  autumn,  followed  invariably  by  a  "  Black  Monday," 
when  bets  are  paid.  An  incredible  amount  of  excitement,  truly  Brit 
ish,  is  got  up  over  Oriental  horseflesh.  The  term  for  an  untried 
horse  is  "griffin." 

A  fine  new  road  has  been  built  by  the  Japanese  Government,  which 
passes  by  the  race-course,  and  winds  over  the  hills  and  down  along  the 
shores  of  Mississippi  Bay,  which  is  described  as  "  the  most  beautiful  for 
varied  scenery  in  the  world."  Of  course,  I  am  quoting  from  those  who 
speak  in  the  same  sense  in  which  a  mother  speaks  when  she  asserts, 
and  really  believes,  that  her  babe  is  the  last  crowning  wonder  of  the 
universe.  Nevertheless,  Yokohama  numbers  among  its  residents  many 
tourists  and  sometime  residents  in  the  Old  and  New  Worlds  in  many 
habitable  latitudes.  Their  almost  unanimous  verdict  is,  that  Mississip- 
pi Bay,  especially  at  the  sunset  and  twilight  hours,  is  matchlessly  love 
ly.  The  New  Road,  after  passing  along  the  beach  and  through  sever- 
al Japanese  villages,  past  rice  and  wheat  fields,  and  through  a  beautiful 
valley,  rejoins  Yokohama  at  "  Legation  Bluff." 

Returning  from  walk  or  drive,  the  event  of  the  day,  the  grand  cul- 
minating act  of  diurnal  existence,  to  which  every  thing  else  is  but  a 
prelude,  the  dinner,  claims  the  solemn  thought  and  most  vigorous  fac- 
ulties of  mind  and  body.  Whatever  else  fails,  the  dinner  must  be  a 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN.  341 

success.  "  Life  without  letters  is  death,"  was  said  by  the  Romans ; 
but  that  life  without  dinners  is  no  life  at  all,  is  the  solemn  conviction 
of  most  residents  in  the  East.  It  is  further  said  that  a  Frenchman 
can  cook  a  dinner  as  a  dinner  deserves  to  be  cooked,  but  only  an  En- 
glishman can  eat  it  as  it  ought  to  be  eaten.  In  Yokohama,  dinner  is 
the  test  of  success  in  life.  If  that  momentous  feed  is  successfully 
achieved,  sorrow  and  care  are  forgotten,  the  future  is  hopeful,  eternity 
radiant,  and  the  chief  end  of  man  is  attained.  No  bolting,  no  haste, 
no  slovenliness  in  dress,  no  wishing  it  over.  A  dinnet1  to  be  given 
must  be  studied  and  exquisitely  planned,  as  a  general  plans  a  battle, 
or  a  diplomat  a  treaty.  A  dinner  to  be  attended  must  be  dressed  for, 
anticipated,  and  rehearsed  as  a  joyful  hour  on  a  higher  plane  of  exist- 
ence, or — as  an  ordeal  for  which  one  must  be  steeled  and  clad  in  res- 
ignation. To  appreciate  the  esoteric  aesthetics  of  dinner,  and  to  com- 
prehend the  higher  law  that  governs  these  august  events,  apart  from 
the  mere  vulgar  idea  of  satisfying  hunger,  one  must  be  educated  by  a 
long  course  of  observation  and  experience.  Real  enjoyment  is  doubt- 
less to  be  obtained  at  these  dinner  parties ;  but  such  an  idea  is  not 
necessarily  included  within  the  objects  sought  by  an  orthodox  giver 
of  a  dinner.  There  are  a  great  many  "  brilliant  flashes  of  silence  "  at 
these  dinners,  and  meditations  on  crockery  are  common.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  really  believed  that  a  good  dinner  is  the  correct  method  of 
securing  the  highest  earthly  happiness,  and  is  the  most  common  means 
of  social  enjoyment  in  Yokohama. 

Being  such  a  cosmopolitan  place,  the  dweller  in  Yokohama  must  be 
always  vigilant  to  offend  none,  and  in  all  the  windings  of  conversation 
must  pick  his  steps,  lest  he  tread  on  the  national,  religious,  or  aesthetic 
corns  of  his  neighbors.  What  is  complimentary  to  one  man  may  be 
insult  to  some  one  else  present,  and  so  one  becomes  schooled  to  make 
only  the  correct  remark.  Though  this  state  of  armed  neutrality  may 
sometimes  tend  to  make  conversation  excessively  stupid,  and  a  mere 
round  of  dessicated  commonplaces,  it  trains  one  to  be,  outwardly  at 
least,  charitable  to  all,  malicious  to  none.  It  keeps  one  circumspect 
and  cosmopolitan,  whether  in  opinions  or  moral  practice ;  and  to  be 
cosmopolitan  is  to  be,  in  Anglo -Oriental  eyes,  virtuous  beyond  vulgar 
conception. 

The  predominating  culture,  thought,  manners,  dress,  and  household 
economy  in  Yokohama,  as  in  all  the  Eastern  ports,  is  English.  Out- 
numbering all  the  other  nationalities,  with  the  Press,  the  Church,  the 
Bar,  and  the  Banks  in  their  own  hands;  Avith  their  ever-present  sol- 


342  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

diers  and  navy ;  with  their  unrivaled  civil  service,  which  furnishes  so 
many  gentlemanly  officials;  and  with  most  of  the  business  under 
their  control,  the  prevalence  of  English  thought  and  methods  is  very 
easily  accounted  for.  Because  of  the  very  merits  and  excellences  of 
the  genuine  Englishman,  the  American  in  the  East  can  easily  forgive 
the  intense  narrowness,  the  arrogant  conceit,  and,  as  relates  to  Ameri- 
can affairs,  the  ludicrous  ignorance  and  fondly  believed  perfection  of 
knowledge  of  so  many  who  arrogate  to  themselves  all  the  insular  per- 
fections. Perhaps  most  of  the  Englishmen  at  the  East  are  fair  repre- 
sentatives of  England's  best  fruits;  but  a  grievously  large  number, 
removed  from  the  higher  social  pressure  which  was  above  them,  and 
which  kept  them  at  their  true  level  in  England,  find  themselves  with- 
out that  social  pressure  in  the  East;  and  obeying  the  "law  of  press- 
ures," they  are  apt  to  become  offensively  vaporous  in  their  preten- 
sions. These  persons  are  surprised  to  find  even  American  enterprise 
in  the  East.  They  are  the  most  radical  and  finical  concerning  every 
idea,  custom,  ceremony,  or  social  despotism  of  any  kind  supposed  to 
be  English.  These  men  help  to  form  the  army  of  hard-heads  and 
civilized  boors  in  Japan,  to  which  our  own  country  furnishes  recruits, 
who  do  so  much  toward  helping  the  Japanese  to  carry  out  in  Japan 
their  favorite  amusement  in  American  hotels,  i.  e.,  to  descend  on  an 
elevator ;  that  is,  to  lay  aside  their  own  dignified  politeness,  and  to 
adopt  the  rough  manners  of  those  who  fondly  imagine  themselves 
the  embodiment  of  the  elevating  influences  of  civilization.  They  are 
the  foreigners  who  believe  it  their  solemn  duty,  and  who  make  it  their 
regular  practice,  to  train  up  their  native  servant  "  boys  "  in  the  way 
they  should  go  by  systematic  whippings,  beatings,  and  applications  of 
the  boot.  Fearful  of  spoiling  cook,  boy,  or  "  betto  "  (hostler),  they 
spare  neither  fist,  boot,  nor  cane.  In  this  species  of  brutality  we  be- 
lieve the  vulgar  John  Bulls  to  be  sinners  above  all  the  foreigners  in 
the  East.  I  saw  enough  in  one  day  to  explain  why  so  many  of  their 
nationality  have  felt  the  vengeful  swords  of  Japanese  samurai.  Al- 
though Americans  sometimes  are  swift-footed  to  follow  the  example 
of  Englishmen,  yet  it  is  usually  acknowledged  by  the  Japanese  them- 
selves that  the  Americans,  as  a  class  of  that  heterogeneous  collection 
of  men,  who  are  all  alike  to  them  in  being  foreigners,  are  more  in- 
clined to  give  them  their  rights,  and  to  treat  them  as  equals. 

Be  it  remembered  that  in  these  remarks  we  do  not  refer  to  that 
large  body  of  educated,  refined,  and  true -hearted  Englishmen  who 
have  been  such  a  potent  influence  in  the  civilization  of  Japan.  It 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN.  343 

must  be  confessed,  and  we  cheerfully  bear  witness  to  what  is  a  fact, 
that  the  predominating  good  influence  in  Japan  is  English.  Some  of 
the  most  prominent  and  most  highly  trusted  foreign  officials  of  the 
Japanese  Government  are  English.  The  navy,  the  railways,  the  tele- 
graphs, public  works,  and  light -houses  are  managed  by  them  almost 
exclusively,  and  a  large  part,  if  not  most,  of  the  business  of  the  coun- 
try is  in  their  hands.  Some  of  the  very  best,  and  perhaps  the  majori- 
ty, of  lay  students  of,  and  scholars  in,  the  Japanese  language  are  En- 
glishmen. For  all  that  goes  to  refine,  elevate,  and  purify  society  among 
foreigners  we  are  largely  indebted  to  the  English.  In  my  strictures,  I 
refer  to  that  numerous  class  in  Japan  who,  with  pecuniary  power  and 
social  influence  far  above  that  they  could  gain  at  home,  ape  the  man- 
ners and  succeed  in  copying  the  worst  faults  of  the  better  class  of 
their  countrymen.  Living  among  a  people  capable  of  teaching  them 
good  manners,  and  yet  ignorant  alike  of  their  history,  language,  insti- 
tutions, and  codes  of  honor  and  morals,  they  regard  them  as  so  many 
chattering  silk -worms,  tea -plants,  and  tokens  of  copper.  They  are 
densely  ignorant  of  every  thing  outside  of  England,  and  with  unruffled 
stupidity  they  fail  to  conceive  how  any  good  thing  can  come  out  of  a  place 
not  included  within  the  little  island  from  which  they  came.  I  should 
feel  very  glad  if  none  of  my  countrymen  answered  to  this  description. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  British  and  American  should  be  so 
often  pitted  together;  but  so  long  as  fair  play,  chivalric  honor,  cosmo 
politan  breadth  of  mind,  and  Christian  courtesy  are  left  us,  we  think 
the  rivalry  must  be  productive  of  immense  good.  Like  flint  and  steel, 
before  the  dead  cold  mass  of  Asiatic  despotism,  superstition,  and  nar- 
rowness, it  must  result  in  kindling  many  a  good  spark  into  flames  of 
progress  and  knowledge.  Whatever  be  their  petty  differences,  the 
English  and  American  ever  strike  hands  for  good  purposes  more 
quickly  than  any  other  two  nationalities  in  Japan ;  and  before  the 
men  of  every  other  nation  the  American  finds  more  to  love,  to  honor, 
and  to  admire  in  the  Englishman.  It  is  the  two  nations  cemented  in- 
separably together  by  the  blood,  religion,  language,  history,  inherit- 
ance, and  the  love  of  liberty  and  law,  that  are  to  impress  their  char- 
acter and  civilization  on  the  millions  of  Asia,  and  to  do  most  toward 
its  regeneration.  Let  every  pen  and  tongue  forbear  to  needlessly  irri- 
tate, or  do  aught  to  sunder  the  ties  that  bind  together  the  two  great 
civilizing  powers  of  the  world ;  but  as  for  the  social  bigot,  the  Philis- 
tine, the  bully,  let  not  his  disgraced  nationality  shield  him  from  the 
social  exile  and  public  contempt  which  he  deserves. 


344  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

Yokohama  is  fervently  believed  by  many  new-comers,  especially 
those  who  are  soon  discovered  to  be  either  verdant  or  genuine  fools, 
to  be  the  very  worst  place  in  the  world  for  iniquity,  gossip,  and  all 
manner  of  rascality.  In  this  they  most  clearly  mistake.  Since  the 
same  reputation  attaches  to  at  least  a  thousand  places,  I  think  the  er- 
ror lies  in  a  defect  in  the  mental  vision  of  the  new-comer.  Some  tem- 
porary attack  of  moral  color-blindness,  strabismus,  or  disarrangement 
of  the  moral  lenses,  must  be  the  cause  of  such  an  erroneous  opinion. 
Long  residents  and  traveled  men  agree  in  the  belief  that  the  moral 
status  of  Yokohama  is  fully  equal  to  most  other  ports  in  the  East,  if 
not  in  the  world.  Some  optimists  even  hold  the  opinion  that  it  is 
better  than  many  other  places  that  boast  loudly  of  their  morals.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  gambling  hells  have  been  purged  away.  Rum  "  mills  " 
and  lewd  houses,  though  numerous  enough,  are  not  more  common  than 
in  other  ports.  The  white  woman  in  scarlet  drives  her  carriage  on  the 
Bluff  and  in  the  town,  but  her  sisters  are  not  abnormally  numerous. 
Where  heathen  women  are  cheap,  and  wives  from  home  are  costly, 
chastity  is  not  a  characteristic  trait  of  the  single  men ;  but  the  same 
evil  and  the  same  resultant  curse  rests  on  all  such  places  where  "  Chris- 
tians "  live  side  by  side  with  "  pagans."  Given  a  superior  race  with 
superior  resources,  and  poor  natives  who  love  money  more  than  virtue, 
and  the  same  state  of  things  results. 

Missionaries  abound  in  Yokohama,  engaged  in  the  work  of  teaching, 
and  converting  the  natives  to  the  various  forms  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. It  is  a  little  curious  to  note  the  difference  in  the  sentiment 
concerning  missionaries  on  different  sides  of  the  ocean.  Coming  from 
the  atmosphere  and  influences  of  the  Sunday-school,  the  church,  and 
the  various  religious  activities,  the  missionary  seems  to  most  of  us  an 
exalted  being,  who  deserves  all  honor,  respect,  and  sympathy.  Ar- 
rived among  the  people  in  Asiatic  ports,  one  learns,  to  his  surprise, 
that  the  missionaries,  as  a  class,  are  "  wife -beaters,"  "swearers,"  "li- 
ars," "cheats,"  "hypocrites,"  " defrauders,"  "speculators,"  etc.,  etc. 
He  is  told  that  they  occupy  an  abnormally  low  social  plane,  that  they 
are  held  in  contempt  and  open  scorn  by  the  "  merchants,"  and  by  so- 
ciety generally.  Certain  newspapers  even  yet  love  nothing  better  than 
to  catch  any  stray  slander  or  gossip  concerning  a  man  from  whom 
there  is  no  danger  of  gunpowder  or  cowhide.  Old  files  of  some  of 
the  newspapers  remind  one  of  an  entomological  collection,  in  which 
the  specimens  are  impaled  on  pins,  or  the  store-house  of  that  celebra- 
ted New  Zealand  merchant  who  sold  "  canned  missionaries."  Some 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN.  345 

of  the  most  lovely  and  lofty  curves  ever  achieved  by  the  nasal  orna- 
ments of  pretty  women  are  seen  when  the  threadbare  topic  of  mission- 
ary scandal  is  introduced.  The  only  act  approaching  to  cannibalism 
is  when  the  missionary  is  served  up  whole  at  the  dinner-table,  and  his 
reputation  devoured.  The  new-comer,  thus  suddenly  brought  in  con- 
tact with  such  new  and  startling  opinions,  usually  either  falls  in  with 
the  fashion,  and  adopts  the  opinions,  the  foundation  for  which  he  has 
never  examined,  or  else  sets  to  work  to  find  out  how  much  truth  there 
is  in  the  scandals.  A  fair  and  impartial  investigation  of  facts  usually 
results  in  the  conviction  that  some  people  are  very  credulous  and  ex- 
cessively gullible  in  believing  falsehoods. 

Scarcely  one  person  in  a  hundred  of  those  who  so  freely  indulge  in, 
and  so  keenly  enjoy,  the  gossip  and  scandal  about  missionaries,  realizes 
their  need  of  human  sympathy,  or  shows  that  fair  play  which  teaches 
us  that  they  are  but  human  beings  like  ourselves.  The  men  of  busi- 
ness and  leisure  for  every  thing  except  their  tongues  are  utterly  un- 
able to  understand  the  missionary's  life,  work,  or  purpose.  Apart  from 
the  fact  that  a  man  who  strives  to  obey  the  final  and  perhaps  most 
positive  command  of  the  Great  Founder  of  Christianity,  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature,  should  win  respect  so  far  as  he  obeys  that 
command,  it  is  also  most  happily  true  that  some  of  the  very  best,  most 
conscientious,  though  quiet,  work  in  the  civilization  of  Japan  has  been 
done  by  missionaries.  They  were  the  first  teachers ;  and  the  first 
counselors  whose  advice  was  sought  and  acted  upon  by  the  Japanese 
were  missionaries,  and  the  first  and  ripest  fruits  of  scholarship — the 
aids  to  the  mastery  of  the  Japanese  language — were  and  are  the  work 
of  missionaries.  The  lustre  shed  upon  American  scholarship  by  mis- 
sionaries in  China  and  Japan  casts  no  shadow,  even  in  the  light  of  the 
splendid  literary  achievements  of  the  English  civil  service.  Besides 
this,  a  community  in  which  the  lives  of  the  majority  are  secretly  or 
openly  at  variance  with  the  plainest  precepts  of  the  Great  Master  can 
not,  even  on  general  principles,  be  expected  to  sympathize  very  deeply 
with,  or  even  comprehend,  the  efforts  of  men  who  are  social  heretics. 
It  is  hard  to  find  an  average  "  man  of  the  world "  in  Japan  who  has 
any  clear  idea  of  what  the  missionaries  are  doing  or  have  done.  Then 
dense  ignorance  borders  on  the  ridiculous. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  few,  very  few,  who  call  themselves  missiona- 
ries are  incompetent,  indiscreet,  fanatical,  and  the  terror  even  of  their 
good  and  earnest  brethren. 

At  present,  in  Yokohama,  there  are  the  edifices  of  the  Established 


346  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

English  Episcopal,  the  French  Catholic,  the  Union  Protestant,  and 
native  Christian  churches.  There  is  also  a  Jewish  congregation.  Be- 
sides the  Governmental,  the  private  Japanese,  and  the  General  Hospital 
of  the  foreigners,  there  is  a  Ladies'  Benevolent  Society.  A  well-kept 
and  neatly  laid  out  and  ornamented  cemetery,  beautifully  situated  on 
the  slope  of  the  Bluff,  in  which  sleep  the  men  of  many  creeds  and  na- 
tions, tells  many  a  sad  tale  of  assassination,  of  murder,  and  of  battle, 
which  took  place  before  the  present  peaceful  residence  of  the  Western 
strangers  in  Japan  was  won.  The  Russians,  the  Dutch,  the  English, 
and  the  French  compelled  the  Japanese  Government  to  build  the  tombs 
of  the  slain.  Many  a  mother's  darling,  many  a  gallant  soldier  and 
sailor,  who  met  his  death  from  disease,  accident,  drowning,  or  excess, 
and  many  a  broken-hearted  exile  lies  here ;  and  more  than  one  visit  to 
this  sad  city  of  the  dead  has  impressed  me  with  the  truth  that  most  of 
the  epitaphs  are  plain  historical  facts,  free  from  sham  and  fulsome 
falsehood ;  as  though  being  free  from  the  meretricious  ornament  that 
so  often  miserably  accords  with  the  blunt  fact  of  death,  the  tombs 
had  won  the  rare  adornment  of  simple  truth. 

From  the  Yokohama  of  to-day,  with  its  bustling  energies,  and  old 
enough  in  its  new  life  to  have  its  cemetery,  we  shall  glance  at  Yoko- 
hama as  it  was  from  its  forgotten  beginning,  centuries  ago,  until  A.D. 
1854,  when  a  fleet  of  American  steamers  began  the  first  epoch  in  the 
new  life  of  Japan. 

On  a  small  arm  of  the  Gulf  of  Ycdo,  midway  between  its  mouth 
and  the  capital  of  the  empire,  stood  an  insignificant  little  fishing  vil- 
lage. Evidently  it  never  possessed  sufficient  importance  to  be  men- 
tioned, except  casually,  by  Japanese  historians  or  travelers.  In  its  best 
days  prior  to  1854,  it  might  have  numbered  a  thousand  inhabitants. 
Nearly  all  the  men  were  fishers,  or  worked  with  the  women  in  the  rice 
swamps  surrounding  the  village  on  all  sides,  and  stretching  toward  the 
base  of  the  Bluff.  The  great  highway  to  Yedo  passed  through  the 
town  of  Kanagawa,  which  lies  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  bay.  Most 
probably  from  this  fact,  the  village  which  supplied  the  travelers  on 
the  great  road  with  fish  was  called  Yokohama  ( Yoko,  across ;  hama, 
strand).  For  centuries  the  simple  inhabitants  swept  the  sea  with  their 
nets,  dug  their  mud  swamps,  planted  their  rice,  eat  their  rude  fare, 
lived  their  monotonous  life,  and  died  in  the  faith  of  Buddha  and  the 
hope  of  Nirvana.  No  seer  ever  prophesied  greatness  of  Yokohama, 
but  some  places,  like  men,  have  greatness  thrust  upon  them.  When, 
on  the  evening  of  the  7th  of  July,  1853,  the  fleet  of  huge  American 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN.  347 

steamers  lay  at  anchor  abreast  of  Uraga,  a  few  miles  distant,  and  the 
people  of  Yokohama  saw  the  blazing  beacon- fires  and  heard  the  breath- 
less messengers  tell  the  tale  of  the  wondrous  apparition  of  mighty 
ships  moving  swiftly  without  wind,  tide,  or  oars,  the  first  pulses  of  a 
new  life  stirred  within  them  as  they  talked  that  night  before  their 
huts  in  the  sultry  evening.  Their  idea  of  a  steamer,  as  I  have  heard 
it  from  their  own  lips,  was,  that  these  Western  foreigners,  who  were 
not  men,  but  half  beasts,  half  sorcerers,  had  power  to  tame  a  volcano, 
condense  its  power  in  their  ships,  and  control  it  at  will.  That  night, 
as  the  spark-spangled  clouds  of  smoke  pulsed  out  of  the  fire-breathing 
smoke-stacks  of  the  steamers,  which  were  kept  under  steam  in  readi- 
ness for  attack,  many  an  eager  prayer,  prompted  by  terror  at  the  aw- 
ful apparition,  went  up  from  the  hearts  of  the  simple  people,  who  anx- 
iously awaited  the  issue  of  the  strange  visit. 

During  all  the  eight  days  during  which  Commodore  Perry's  fleet 
lay  at  anchor,  or  steamed  at  will  over  their  sacred  waters,  the  survey- 
ing boats  were  busy  extorting  the  secrets  of  the  water,  its  danger  and 
its  depth.  No  drunken  sailor  roamed  on  the  land,  none  of  the  quiet 
natives  were  beaten,  robbed,  or  molested.  The  mighty  mind  of  the 
gentle  commodore  extended  to  the  humblest  minutiie  of  discipline,  and 
his  all-comprehending  genius  won  victory  without  blood.  The  natives 
had  opportunity  of  gaining  clearer  ideas  as  to  what  sort  of  beings  the 
strange  visitors  were.  In  those  eight  days  even  the  proudest  samurai 
were  convinced  of  the  power  of  the  Western  nations.  Familiarity 
bred  no  contempt  of  American  prowess,  while  for  the  first  time  they 
saw  their  own  utterly  defenseless  condition.  After  delivering  the  let- 
ter with  the  proper  pomp  and  ceremony  to  the  high  Japanese  com- 
missioner at  Uraga,  and  having  for  the  first  time  in  history  gained 
several  important  points  of  etiquette  in  a  country  where  etiquette  is 
more  than  law  or  morals,  the  consummate  diplomat  and  warrior,  Per- 
ry, sailed  away  with  his  fleet  July  I7tli,  1853. 

Commodore  M.  C.  Perry  inaugurated  a  policy  in  his  dealings  with 
the  Japanese  which  all  thoroughly  successful  foreigners  in  Japan  have 
found  the  safest,  quickest,  and  most  certain  means  of  success,  in  deal- 
ing with  them,  in  order  to  win  new  concessions,  or  to  lead  them  to 
higher  reforms.  Instead  of  demanding  an  immediate  answer,  he  al- 
lowed them  seven  months  to  consider  the  matter,  promising  them  at 
the  end  of  that  time  to  come  again.  During  that  period  the  authori- 
ties had  time  to  consult,  reflect,  and  to  smoke  an  unlimited  number 
of  pipes,  and  all  of  these  they  did. 


348  THE  MIKADOES  EMPIRE. 

When  Perry,  with  an  augmented  fleet  of  nine  steamers,  returned 
again  in  February,  the  Japanese  found  him  as  punctilious,  polite,  per- 
severing, considerate,  and  as  inflexibly  firm  as  ever.  Instead  of  mak- 
ing the  treaty  at  Uraga,  he  must  make  it  nearer  Yedo.  Yokohama 
was  the  chosen  spot,  and  there,  on  the  8th  of  March,  1854,  were  ex- 
changed the  formal  articles  of  convention  between  the  United  States 
and  Japan.  Then  followed  the  interchange  of  presents.  The  minia- 
ture telegraph  was  set  up  on  shore  over  a  space  of  one  mile,  and  was 
worked  for  several  days  to  the  delight  and  wonder  of  admiring  Japa- 
nese officials.  The  Lilliputian  locomotive  and  train  of  cars  caused  un- 
bounded interest.  American  implements  and  mechanism  of  all  de- 
scriptions were  presented  as  evidences  of  American  peace  and  good- 
will. Matthew  Calbraith  Perry  achieved  a  triumph  grander  in  results 
than  his  brother,  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  on  Lake  Erie.  He  had  met 
the  enemy,  and  they  were  his  friends.-  The  Japanese  returned  the 
gifts  with  their  best  native  productions,  and  amused  their  guests  with 
wrestling  matches. 

By  the  treaty  of  Yokohama,  Hakodate  in  Yezo,  and  Shimoda  in 
Idzu,  were  opened  as  ports  of  supply  to  the  Americans.  Shimoda, 
before  it  fairly  began  to  be  of  much  service,  was  visited  by  a  terrific 
earthquake  and  tidal  wave,  that  hurled  a  Russian  frigate  to  destruc- 
tion, overwhelmed  the  town,  sweeping  back  by  its  recession  into  the 
boiling  ocean  scores  of  houses,  and  about  one  hundred  human  beings. 
The  effluent  wave  plowed  the  harbor  with  sucli  force  that  all  the  mud 
was  scoured  from  the  rocky  bed.  The  anchors  of  ships  could  obtain 
no  grip  on  the  bare,  slippery  rock  bottom,  and  Shimoda,  being  useless 
as  a  harbor,  was  abandoned.  The  ruin  of  Shimoda  was  the  rise  of 
Yokohama.  By  a  new  treaty,  and  concessions  gained  from  the  Japa- 
nese by  Hon.  Town  send  Harris,  Kanagawa  (three  miles  across  the 
bay  from  Yokohama)  and  Nagasaki  were  made  open  ports,  not  only 
of  entry,  but  of  trade  and  commerce.  By  the  terms  of  the  treaty, 
Kanagawa  was  opened  July  1st,  1859. 

Kanagawa  is  situated  on  the  western  side  of  the  Bay  of  Yedo,  about 
sixteen  miles  from  the  capital.  Through  it  passes  the  great  highway 
of  the  empire,  along  which  the  proud  daimios  and  their  trains  of  re- 
tainers were  continually  passing  on  their  way  to  and  from  the  capita). 
These  belligerent  young  bloods  were  spoiling  for  war,  and  a  trial  of 
their  blades  on  the  hated  hairy  foreigners !  Had  Kanagawa  been 
made  a  foreign  settlement,  its  history  would  doubtless  have  had  many 
more  bloody  pages  of  incendiaries  and  assassination  than  did  Yoko- 


FIRKT  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN.  349 

hama.  Foreseeing  this,  even  though  considered  by  the  foreign  minis- 
ters a  violation  of  treaty  agreements,  the  Japanese  Government  chose 
Yokohama  as  the  future  port,  and  immediately  set  to  work  to  render 
it  as  convenient  as  possible  for  trade,,  residence,  and  espionage.  They 
built  a  causeway,  nearly  two  miles  long,  across  the  lagoon  and  marshes 
from  Kanagawa,  so  as  to  make  it  of  easy  access.  They  built  the  solid 
granite  piers  or  "  hatobas,"  which  we  have  described,  erected  a  custom- 
house and  officers'  quarters,  and  prepared  small  dwellings  and  store- 
houses for  the  foreign  merchants. 

Before  the  opening  of  the  harbor,  several  ships,  with  the  pioneers  of 
trade  on  board,  lay  in  the  harbor  from  Nagasaki  and  China,  "  eager  to 
try  the  new  port,  and,  of  course,  clamorous  for  instant  accommodation 
and  facilities."  The  merchants  insisted  on  Yokohama,  the  ministers 
and  consuls  were  determined  on  Kanagawa.  The  strife  between  the 
two  parties  lasted  long,  and  left  many  roots  of  bitterness  that  are  not 
yet  entirely  grubbed  up ;  but  the  merchants  carried  their  point — as  is 
believed  by  all  to-day — to  the  advantage  of  foreign  influence  in  Japan. 
The  red  tape  which  helps  to  weave  a  net  of  misleading  and  inaccurate 
statements  in  regard  to  Japan  is  not  yet  cut,  as  regards  Kanagawa. 
We  frequently  read  of  the  United  States  Consul  and  Consulate  at 
Kanagawa.  There  has  been  neither  there  since  1861.  Both  are  in 
Yokohama.  Baron  Hiibner's  statement  that  Sir  R.  Alcock  was  "  the 
official  founder  of  Yokohama"  is  a  ramble  round  the  truth.  Yoko- 
hama was  settled  in  a  squatter-like  and  irregular  manner,  and  the  ill 
effects  of  it  are  seen  to  this  day.  When  compared  with  Shanghae, 
the  foreign  metropolis  of  China,  it  is  vastly  inferior  to  that  "  model 
settlement."  To  abridge  a  tedious  story,  the  straggling  colony  of 
diplomats,  missionaries,  and  merchants  at  Kanagawa  finally  pulled  up 
their  stakes  and  joined  the  settlement  at  Yokohama.  The  town  grew 
slowly  at  first.  Murders  and  assassinations  of  foreigners  by  the  ruffian 
patriots  who  bravely  attacked  unarmed  foreigners,  usually  from  be- 
hind, were  frequent  during  the  first  few  years.  The  intermeddling  of 
Japanese  officials  threatened  to  paralyze  trade.  The  lion  of  civilization 
was  threatened  with  death  in  a  gigantic  net-work  of  red-tape,  in  the 
length,  redness,  strength,  and  quantity  of  which  the  bakufu  excelled 
the  world.  The  first  foreigners  were  not  specially  noted  for  good 
morals,  sensitive  consciences,  sweetness  of  temper,  nor  for  a  hatred  of 
filthy  lucre,  and  the  underhand  cunning  and  disregard  for  truth  which 
seems  a  part  of  official  human  nature  in  Japan  (only  ?)  were  matched 
by  the  cold-blooded  villainy  and  trickery  of  the  unprincipled  foreign- 


350  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

ers  of  all  creeds  and  nationalities.  A  favorite  threat  of  atrabilious 
Frenchmen,  blustering  Russians,  and  petty  epaulet-wearers  of  all  sorts, 
when  their  demands  were  refused,  was  to  strike  their  flag,  go  on  board 
a  man-of-war,  and  blow  up  the  native  town.  Yokohama  still  stands, 
having  survived  bombardments  in  five  languages.  The  Japanese  offi- 
cials became  so  accustomed  to  this  polyglot  snobbery,  that  they  ceased 
to  regard  its  monotonous  recurrence  with  feelings  different  from  those 
evoked  on  beholding  snuff-boxes  drawn,  or  on  hearing  the  terrific 
crash  that  followed. 

A  less  congenial  and  more  expensive  employment,  at  which  native 
officials  were  kept  busy,  was  the  payment  of  outrageously  unjust  "  in- 
demnities " — a  euphemism  for  civilized  theft.  A  conflagration  caused 
by  a  kitchen  fire,  a  drunken  squabble,  an  insult  resulting  in  the  death 
of  a  white -faced  villain,  terminated  in  the  inevitable  and  exorbitant 
mulct.  A  sailor  found  dead  drunk  in  the  streets  was  the  signal  fov 
sending  up  the  price  of  revolvers  one  hundred  per  cent.  Every  for- 
eign suicide  was  heralded  as  an  "  assassination." 

A  fire  (November  22d,  1866),  which  laid  nearly  the  whole  foreign 
town  in  ashes,  seemed  to  purify  the  place  municipally,  commercially, 
and  morally.  The  settlement  was  rebuilt  in  a  more  substantial  and 
regular  manner.  Banks,  newspaper  offices,  hospitals,  post-offices,  and 
consulate  buildings  re-appeared  as  with  new  life.  The  streets  were 
graded,  paved,  and  curbed.  The  swamp  was  filled  up.  The  Japanese 
village  of  Homura  was  removed  across  the  creek.  Fire  companies 
were  organized.  A  native  police  force  was  formed.  The  European 
steamships  began  to  come  to  Yokohama,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Pacific  Mail  line  of  steamers,  running  monthly  between  San  Francisco 
and  Yokohama,  was  the  final  master-stroke  that  removed  the  future 
prosperity  of  Yokohama  from  the  region  of  surmise  to  that  of  cer- 
tainty. Other  steamers  plied  to  Japanese  and  Chinese  ports.  Trade 
became  firmly  established.  Missionaries  unlocked  the  language,  and 
made  it  acquirablc.  The  settlement  was  purged  of  roughs  and  gam- 
blers. The  amenities  of  social  life  began  to  appear,  as  ladies  and  chil- 
dren came  in  scores.  Houses  became  homes.  The  solitary  were  set 
in  families.  Churches  appeared  with  their  beneficent  influence.  The- 
atres, concerts,  and  operettas  gave  recreation  to  the  mind ;  while  row- 
ing, racing,  athletic,  cricket,  and  racket  clubs,  and  clubs  gastronomic 
and  sociable,  made  the  life  of  the  bachelors  less  monotonous.  Rifle 
companies  kept  the  eye  and  hand  in  practice  for  the  occasional  hunts 
when  game  was  plenty.  The  telegraph  to  Tokio  and  thence  around 


FIRST  GLIMPSED  OF  JAPAN.  351 

the  globe  was  opened  and  used.  The  railway  to  the  capital,  with  its 
ten  trains  daily,  became  a  familiar  fact.  Schools  for  children  were  es- 
tablished. The  Eurasian  children  were  gathered  up  by  American  la- 
dies and  French  nuns,  to  be  reared  in  purity.  Christian  hymns  were 
translated  into  Japanese,  and  sung  to  the  tunes  of  Lowell  and  Brad- 
bury by  native  children.  Teachers  of  music  and  languages  sent  out 
their  circulars.  The  Sunday-school  opened  its  doors.  The  family 
physician  took  the  place  of  the  navy  surgeon.  Yokohama  now  boasts 
of  the  season,  like  London.  The  last  slow  growth  of  such  a  colony — 
the  Asiatic  Society,  established  for  the  encouragement  of  original  re- 
search, and  for  the  collection  of  information  concerning  the  history, 
language,  geography,  and  antiquity  of  Japan  and  parts  adjacent — has 
been  established.  It  has  already  done  much  excellent  work,  and, 
though  in  a  trading  community,  hopes  to  live. 

I  have  neither  time  nor  space  to  speak  of  the  wonders  wrought  in 
the  Japanese  town ;  nor  can  I  tell  the  story  of  how  a  fishing  village 
of  a  thousand  souls  has  become  a  city  of  fifty  thousand  people,  with 
its  streets  lighted  with  gas ;  rich  stores,  piled  with  silk,  tea,  bronzes, 
and  curios  of  all  kinds — whither  tourists  flock,  and  naval  officers  mort- 
gage their  pay  for  months  to  come :  Japanese  curios  are  as  powerful 
as  mercury  to  attract  gold.  The  railway  and  station,  the  many  promis- 
ing industries  of  all  kinds,  the  native  hospital,  printing-offices,  etc., 
etc.,  deserve  description,  but  I  must  close  this  already  tedious  chapter 
by  a  summary  of  a  few  items  of  interest  not  referred  to  before. 

At  present  (1876)  the  foreign  population  of  Yokohama  is  reckoned 
to  be  about  twelve  hundred  residents,  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages.  The 
men  of  the  merchant  marine,  sailors,  officers,  on  shore  and  ship  duty, 
and  temporary  dwellers,  make  up  a  fluctuating  population,  which  is 
seldom  less  than  three  and  sometimes  as  many  as  six  thousand.  The 
Chinese  population  may  number  one  thousand  in  Yokohama,  and 
twenty  five  hundred  in  Japan.  In  1  heir  hands  are  the  deep  things 
of  finance.  All  the  money-changers  and  brokers  are  Chinese,  and 
any  unexpected  fluctuations  in  the  money  market  are  laid  to  their 
charge.  Those  who  are  not  brokers  are  "  compradores,"  clerks,  or 
useful  artisans.  As  a  class,  they  form  the  most  industrious  national- 
ity in  Japan.  They  have  their  temple,  cemetery,  guilds,  and  benevo- 
lent association,  but  no  consul  or  mandarin  to  protect  or  to  grind 
them.  The  sight  of  the  fat,  well-dressed,  cleanly  Chinese,  so  well-oiled 
in  his  disposition  and  physique,  so  defiantly  comfortable  in  his  dress, 
forces  a  contrast  between  him  and  the  Japanese.  Some  people  con- 


352  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

sider  the  Chinaman  as  the  man  of  superior  race.  In  Yokohama1 
heterogeneous  collection  of  humanity  are  several  score  of  children  i 
whose  veins  flows  the  blood  of  two  continents.  The  Eurasian  chi 
dren,  when  illegitimate,  are  still  citizens  of  Japan,  in  the  eye  of  Jap; 
nese  law ;  but  when  born  in  wedlock,  are  citizens  of  the  same  countr 
with  their  father.  By  the  laws  of  Japan,  marriage  between  Japanes 
and  foreigners  is  perfectly  legal,  and  several  such  marriages  have  bee 
regularly  contracted  and  solemnized. 

The  Fourth  Estate  in  Yokohama  is  a  vast  one.  The  English  papei 
are,  The  Japan  Herald ;  The  Japan  Mail,  daily  and  weekly ;  Th 
Japan  Gazette,  daily.  All  these  papers  issue  also  a  fortnightly  c 
monthly  mail  summary.  The  French  paper,  L 'Echo  du  Japon,  is 
daily.  The  Far  East  is  a  semi-monthly  large  pamphlet,  of  twelv 
pages,  photographically  illustrated,  with  letter -press  descriptive  c 
scenes  and  incidents  in  Japan.  The  Japan  Punch,  which  hits  tli 
folly  and  furnishes  the  fun  for  the  Yokohama  public,  is  printed  b 
lithography,  and  is  a  clever  monthly  production. 

Toward  die  future  Yokohama  may  look  cheerfully  and  with  hopi 
So  near  the  great  capital,  practically  on  the  high-road  of  the  empin 
with  a  magnificent  harbor,  capable  of  unlimited  improvements,  wit 
railroad  and  telegraphic  facilities  already  in  use,  Yokohama's  futni 
must  be  one  of  steady  prosperity.  When  Kobe  was  opened,  bol 
prophets  predicted  the  waning  of  Yokohama;  but  their  propheci( 
have  long  since  been  forgotten.  New  land  is  being  reclaimed  froi 
the  lagoons  toward  Kanagawa,  and  in  time  Kanagawa  and  Yokoham 
will  be  one  city.  The  foreign  population  may  not  increase  accord! n 
to  the  New  World  ratio,  but  from  all  parts  of  the  Sea  Empire  sha 
come  the  wealth  and  the  sinew,  the  brain  and  the  heart  of  New  J; 
pan,  to  learn  the  sources  of  the  power  and  superiority  of  the  Wcs 
eras ;  and,  returning,  the  fathers  shall  teach  theii1  children  to  be  wise 
than  they.  Whatever  be  the  changes  of  the  future,  Yokohama  mus 
continue  to  be  the  master-teacher  and  exemplar  for  good  and  evil  c 
the  civilization  of  Christendom  in  New  Japan. 

[The  tourist  in  port  who  desires  to  enjoy  the  scenery  and  people,  and  vis 
some  of  the  plaees  and  monuments  of  historic  interest  around  Yokohama  av 
Tokio,  will  he  greatly  aided  by  three  little  manuals  published  by  the  author,  ai 
to  be  found  in  Yokohama.  They  are  "The  Yokohama  Guide,"  p.  39,  with  ma] 
"  The  Tokio  Guide,"  p.  35;  and  "  Map  of  Tokio,  with  Nutes  Historical  and  E 
planatory."  These  little  pamphlets  contain  skeleton  trips,  hints  to  traveler 
notes  of  information,  and  a  short  vocabulary,  with  pronunciation  of  the  Japane 
words  most  needed  by  a  tourist.  On  Japanese  "Pigeon-English,"  see  a  pat 
phlet  entitled  "Exercises  In  the  Yokohama  Dialect."] 


A.  HIDE  ON  TMM  TOEAJDO.  353 


IL 

A  RIDE  ON  THE  TOKAIDO. 

January  2d,  1871. — A  frosty  morning.  Air  keen,  bracing,  razor 
like.  Sky  stainlessly  clear.  The  Bay  of  Yedo  glinting  with  unnum- 
bered sunbeams.  Blue  sky,  blue  water,  blue  mountains,  white  Fuji. 

The  Yankee  has  invaded  the  Land  of  the  Gods.  He  jostles  the 
processions  of  the  lords  of  the  land.  He  runs  a  coach  on  the  great 
highway,  so  sacred  to  daimios  and  two-sworded  samurai.  Here  on  the 
Bund  stands  the  stage  that  will  carry  a  man  to  the  capital  for  two 
Mexican  dollars.  Of  the  regulation  Yankee  pattern,  it  is  yet  small, 
and,  though  seating  three  persons  besides  the  driver,  can  crowd  in  five 
when  comfort  is  not  the  object  in  view.  A  pair  of  native  ponies  on 
which  oats  are  never  wasted  make  the  team.  A  betto  (running  foot- 
man and  hostler),  whose  business  is  to  harness  the  animals,  yell  at  the 
people  on  the  road,  and  be  sworn  at,  perches,  like  a  meditative  chick- 
en, by  one  foot  on  the  iron  step.  As  for  the  driver,  an  Australian, 
who  is  recommended  as  "  a  very  devil  of  a  whip,"  he  impresses  me  at 
once  as  being  thoroughly  qualified  to  find  the  bottom  of  a  tumblerful 
of  brandy  without  breathing. 

He  is  not  only  an  expert  at  driving  and  drinking,  but  such  an  adept 
in  the  theology  of  the  bar-room  is  he,  and  so  well  versed  in  orthodox 
profanity,  that  the  heathen  betto  regards  his  master  as  a  safe  guide, 
and  imitates  him  with  conscientious  accuracy.  The  driver  converts 
the  pagan  better  than  he  knows.  Indeed,  it  is  astonishing  what  pvog- 
ress  his  pupil  lias  made  in  both  theology  and  the  English  language. 
He  has  already  at  his  tongue's  end  the  names  and  attributes  of  the 
3iitire  Trinity. 

Crack  goes  the  whip,  and  we  rattle  along  the  Bund,  past  the  Club- 
house, around  the  English  consulate,  past  the  Perry  treaty  grounds, 
and  down  Benten  dori,  through  the  native  town.  The  shops  are  just 
opening,  and  the  shop-boys  are  looping  up  the  short  curtains  that  hang 
before  each  front.  The  bath-houses  begin  business  early.  The  dooi 
of  one  is  shunted  aside,  spite  of  the  lowness  of  the  thermometer  and 


354 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


decency.  Out  steps  a  man  into  the  street  as  naked  as  when  he  step 
ped  out  into  the  world.  His  native  copper  hue,  like  a  lobster's,  is  in 
tensified  by  the  boiling  he  has  just  undergone.  He  walks  in  a  self- 
exhaling  cloud  of  auroral  vapors,  like  a  god  in  ambrosia.  He  deigns 
not  to  make  his  toilet  while  in  sight,  but  proceeds  homeward,  clothes 
in  hand.  My  pocket  Fahrenheit  marks  four  degrees  below  the  freez- 
ing-point. 

Our  driver  whips  up  the  horses  for  sheer  warmth,  and  we  dash  over 
the  "  iron  bridge."  A  trifling  bit  of  iron  to  our  foreign  eyes,  but  a 
triumph  of  engineering  to  the  natives,  who  build  of  wood.  We  pass  it, 
and  then  we  are  on  the  causeway  that  connects  Yokohama  with  the 
great  main  road  of  the  empire,  the  Tokaidd.  The  causeway  passed, 
and  with  foreign  sights  behind,  real  Japan  appears.  I  am  in  a  new 
world,  not  the  Old.  Every  thing  is  novel.  I  should  like  to  be  Argus : 
not  less  than  a  hundred  eyes  can  take  in  all  the  sight.  I  should  like 
to  be  a  poet  to  express,  and  an  artist  to  paint  all  I  see.  I  wish  I  knew 
the  language,  to  ask  questions. 

What  a  wonderful  picture-book !  A  line  of  villages  are  strung  along 
the  road,  like  a  great  illuminated  scroll  full  of  gay,  brilliant,  merry,  sad, 

disgusting,  horrible,  curious,  funny,  de- 
lightful pictures. 

What  pretty  children !  Chubby,  rosy, 
sparkling-pyed.  The  cold  only  made 
their  feet  pink,  and  their  cheeks  red. 
How  curiously  dressed,  with  coats  like 
long  wrappers,  and  long,  wide,  square; 
sleeves,  which  I  know  serve  for  pock- 
ets, for  I  just  saw  a  boy  buy  some  rice 
cracknels,  hot  from  the  toasting  coals, 
and  put  them  in  his  sleeves.  A  girdle 
three  inches  wide  binds  the  coat  tight 
to  the  waist.  The  children's  heads  art- 
shaved  in  all  curious  fashions.  '  The 
way  the  babies  are  carried  is  an  im- 
provement upon  the  Indian  fashion 
The  Japanese  ko  is  the  papoose  re- 
versed. He  rides  eyes  front,  and  sees 

Young  Girl  carry in<*  her  Baby  Brother.      ,  i_-  J.T.     »       i_      u 

the  world  over  his  mother  s  shoulder. 

Japanese  babies  are  lugged   pickapack.      Baby  Gohachi  is  laid  on 
mamma's  back  and  strapped  on,  or  else  he  is  inclosed  in  her  gar- 


A  RIDE  ON  THE  TOKAIDO. 


355 


ment,  and  only  his  little  shaven  noddle  protrudes  behind  his  mother's 
neck.  His  own  neck  never  gets  wrenched  off,  and  often  neither  head 
nor  tiny  toes  arc  covered,  though  water  is  freezing.  In  the  picture  on 
the  preceding  page,  the  fat-cheeked  baby  is  carried  by  a  young,  un- 
married girl,  as  I  can  tell  by  the  way  her  hair  is  dressed.  It  is  prob- 
ably an  elder  sister  or  hired  servant.  Her  bare  feet  are  on  wooden 
clogs. 

Here  are  adults  and  children  running  around  barefoot.  Nobody 
wears  any  hats.  As  for  bonnets,  a  Japanese  woman  might  study  a 
life-time,  and  go  crazy  in  trying  to  find  out  its  use.  Every  one  wears 
cotten  clothes,  and  these  of  only  one  or  two  thicknesses.  None  of  the 
front  doors  are  shut.  All  the  shops  are  open.  We  can  see  some  of 
the  people  eating  their  breakfast — beefsteaks,  hot  coffee,  and  hot  roils 
for  warmth  ?  No :  cold  rice,  pickled  radishes,  and  vegetable  messes 
of  all  unknown  sorts.  These  we  see.  They  make  their  rice  hot  by 
pouring  tea  almost  boiling  over  it.  A  few  can  afford  only  hot  water. 
Some  eat  millet  instead  of  rice.  Do  they  not  understand  dietetics  or 
hygiene  better  ?  Or  is  it  poverty  ?  Strange  people,  these  Japanese ! 
Here  are  large  round  ovens  full  of  sweet-potatoes  being  steamed  or 
roasted.  A  group  of  urchins  are 
waiting  around  one  shop,  grown 
men  around  another,  for  the  luxury. 
Twenty  cash,  one-fifth  of  a  cent,  in 
iron  or  copper  coin,  is  the  price  of  a 
good  one.  Many  of  the  children, 
just  more  than  able  to  walk  them- 
selves, are  saddled  with  babies.  They 
look  like  two-headed  children.  The 
fathers  of  these  youngsters  are  cool- 
ies or  burden  -  bearers,  who  wear  a 
cotten  coat  of  a  special  pattern,  and 
knot  their  kerchiefs  over  their  fore- 
heads. These  heads  of  families  re- 
ceive wages  of  ten  cents  a  day  when 
work  is  steady.  Here  stands  one  with 
his  shoulder -stick  (tembimbo)  with 
pendant  baskets  of  plaited  rope,  like 
a  scale-beam  and  pans.  His  shoul- 
der is  to  be  the  fulcrum.  On  his  daily  string  of  copper  cash  he  sup- 
ports a  family.  The  poor  man's  blessings  and  the  rich  man's  grief 


Coolie  waitiug  for  a  Job. 


356  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

are  the  same  in  every  clime.  In  Japan  the  quiver  of  poverty  is  full, 
while  the  man  of  wealth  mourns  for  an  heir.  The  mother  bears  the 
bairns,  but  the  children  carry  them.  Each  preceding  child,  as  it  grows 
older,  must  lug  the  succeeding  baby  on  its  back  till  able  to  stand.  The 
rearing  of  a  Japanese  poor  family  is  a  perpetual  game  of  leap-frog. 

The  houses  are  small,  mostly  one  story,  all  of  them  of  wood,  except 
the  fire -proof  mud -walled  store -houses  of  the  merchant.  Most  are 
clean  inside.  The  floors  are  raised  a  foot  above  the  ground,  covered 
with  mats.  The  wood-work  is  clean,  as  if  often  scrubbed.  Yet  the 
Japanese  have  no  word  for  soap,  and  have  never  until  these  late  days 
used  it.  Nevertheless,  they  lead  all  Asiatics  in  cleanliness  of  persons 
and  dwellings.  Does  not  an  ancient  stanza  of  theirs  declare  that 
"  when  the  houses  of  a  people  are  kept  clean,  be  certain  that  the  gov- 
ernment is  respected  and  will  endure?"  Hot  water  is  the  detergent, 
and  the  normal  Japanese  gets  under  it  at  least  once  a  day.  For  scrub- 
bing the  floor  or  clothes,  alkali,  obtained  by  leeching  ashes,  is  put  in 
the  water. 

The  shop-keeper  sits  on  his  hams  and  heels,  and  hugs  his  hibachi 
(fire-bowl).  What  shivering  memories  I  have  of  it !  Every  Japanese 
house  has  one  or  more.  It  is  a  box  of  brass,  wood,  or  delf.  In  a  bed 
of  ashes  are  a  handful  of  coals.  Ordinarily  it  holds  the  ghost  of  a 
fire,  and  radiates  heat  for  a  distance  of  six  inches.  A  thermo-multi- 
plier  might  detect  its  influence  further  on  a  cold  day.  With  this  the 
Japanese  warm  their  houses,  toast  their  fingers  for  incredibly  long 
spaces  of  time,  and  even  have  the  hardihood  to  ask  you  to  sit  down 
by  it  and  warm  yourself !  Nevertheless,  when  the  coals  are  piled  up 
regardless  of  expense,  a  genial  warmth  may  be  obtained.  The  shop- 
keepers seem  to  pay  much  more  attention  to  their  braziers  than  to 
their  customers.  What  strikes  one  with  the  greatest  surprise  is  the 
baby-house  style  and  dimensions  of  every  thing.  The  rice-bowls  are 
tea-cups,  the  tea-cups  are  thimbles,  the  tea-pot  is  a  joke.  The  family 
sit  in  a  circle  at  meals.  The  daughter  or  house-maid  presides  at  the 
rice-bucket,  and  paddles  out  cupfuls  of  rice. 

We  pass  through  Kanagawa,  a  flourishing  town,  and  the  real  treaty 
port,  from  which  Yokohama  has  usurped  foreign  fame  and  future  his- 
tory. We  pass  many  shops,  and  learn  in  a  half-hour  the  staple  articles 
of  sale,  which  we  afterward  find  repeated  with  little  variation  in  the 
shops  all  over  the  country.  They  are  not  groceries,  or  boots,  or  jewelry, 
nor  lacquer,  bronze,  or  silk.  They  are  straw-sandals,  paper  umbrellas, 
rush  hats,  bamboo-work  of  all  kinds,  matting  for  coats,  flint,  steel  and 


A  HIDE  ON  THE  T  OK  AID  6. 


357 


tinder,  sulphur  splints  for  matches,  oiled  paper  coats,  and  grass  cloaks, 
paper  for  all  purposes,  wooden  clogs  for  shoes :  fish  and  radish  knives, 
grass-hooks,  hoes,  scissors  with  two  blades  but  only  one  handle,  and 
axes,  all  of  a  strange  pattern,  compose  the  stock  of  cutlery.  Vegeta- 
ble and  fish  shops  are  plentiful,  but  there  is  neither  butcher  nor 
baker.  Copper  and  brass 
articles  arc  numerous  in  the 
braziers'  shops. 

In  the  cooper  shops,  the 
dazzling  array  of  wood-work, 
so  neat,  fresh,  clean,  and  fra- 
grant, carries  temptation  into 
housekeepers'  pockets.  I 
know  an  American  lady  who 
never  can  pass  one  without 
buying  some  useful  utensil. 
There  are  two  coopers  pound- 
ing lustily  away  at  a  great 
rain-tank,  or  sake-vat,  or  soy- 
tub.  They  are  more  intent 
on  their  bamboo  hoops,  bee- 
tles, and  wedges  than  on  their 
clothing,  which  they  have 
half  thrown  off.  One  has 
his  kerchief  over  his  shoul- 
der. 


Coopers  hoopiu 


(By  a  pupil  of  Hokusai.) 


In  Japan  the  carpenter  is 
the  shoe -maker,  for  the  foot-gear  is  of  wood.  The  basket -maker 
weaves  the  head-dress.  Hats  and  boots  are  not.  The  head-covering 
is  called  a  "roof"  or  "shed."  I  remember  how  in  America  I  read 
of  gaudily  advertised  "Japanese  boot-blacking,"  and  "  Japanese  cbrn- 
files."  I  now  see  that  the  Japanese  wear  no  boots  or  shoes,  hence 
blacking  is  not  in  demand ;  and  as  such  plagues  as  corns  are  next 
to  unknown,  there  is  no  need  of  files  for  such  a  purpose.  The  total 
value  of  the  stock  in  many  of  the  shops  appears  to  be  about  five 
dollars.  Many  look  as  if  one  "  clean  Mexican "  would  buy  their 
stock,  good -will,  and  fixtures.  I  thought,  in  my  innocence,  that  I 
should  find  more  splendid  stores  elsewhere.  I  kept  on  for  a  year 
or  more  thinking  so,  but  was  finally  satisfied  of  the  truth  that,  if 
the  Japanese?  are  wealthy,  they  do  not  show  it  in  their  shops.  The 


358  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

prosaic  truth  is  that  the  people  are  very  poor.  Of  course,  being  fresh 
from  the  splendor  of  the  fine  young  fellows,  the  "  princes "  of  the 
newspapers,  in  America,  who  were  noted  for  their  impressive  ward- 
robe, dazzling  jewelry,  hotel-bills,  and  carriages,  I  could  not  believe  the 
truth  about  Japan  then.  My  glamoured  eyes  refused  to  see  it.  "  I 
shall  see  the  wealth,  but  not  now,"  was  my  thought. 

Tugging  up  the  steep  hill  and  past  Kanagawa,  we  dash  over  the 
splendid  road  beneath  an  arch  of  pines,  some  grandly  venerable,  some 
augustly  tall,  some  like  a  tottering  empire,  glorious  in  decay,  but  many 
more  scraggy  and  crooked.  We  pass  all  kinds  of  dress  and  charac- 
ters on  the  road.  Now,  our  betto  yells  out  to  a  merchant,  who  ambles 
along  with  a  pack  on  his  back  tied  over  his  neck.  Our  driver  prays 
his  God  to  damn  some  poor  old  priest  who  was  not  as  nimble  as  he 
might  have  been  forty  years  ago.  Anon,  the  exponent  of  Christian 
civilization  informs  a  farm  laborer,  trudging  along,  hoe  on  shoulder, 
that  ne  will  "  cut  the  d — d  face  off  him  "  if  he  isn't  spry.  A  gawky 
heathen,  leading  a  pack-horse  loaded  with  an  unmentionable  article,  is 
made  to  know,  by  a  cut  of  the  whip  over  his  neck,  that  he  must  move 
faster  next  time.  The  priest  in  his  robes,  brocade  collar,  and  shaven 
head ;  the  merchant,  in  his  tight  breeches ;  the  laborer,  with  his  bare 
legs ;  the  samurai,  with  his  two  swords  and  loose  trousers ;  the  pil- 
grim, in  his  white  dress,  are  all  easily  recognized. 

As  for  the  beggars,  we  can  not  understand  their  "  Chabu  chabu  ko- 
marimasu  tempo  danna  san,  dozo  (Please,  master,  a  penny ;  we  are  in 
great  trouble  for  our  grub) ;  but  we  comprehend  the  object  of  their 
importunity.  They  are  loathsome,  dirty,  ragged,  sore.  Now  I  wish 
I  were  a  physician,  to  heal  such  vilencss  and  suffering.  Who  would 
care  to  do  an  artist's  or  a  poet's  work  when  the  noblest  art  of  healing 
needs  to  be  practiced  ?  The  children  run  after  us.  The  old  beggars 
live  in  straw  kennels  by  the  roadside.  Some  are  naked,  except  dirty 
mats  bound  round  them.  The  law  of  Japan  does  not  recognize  them 
as  human :  they  are  beasts.  The  man  who  kills  them  will  be  neither 
prosecuted  nor  punished.  There  lies  one  dead  in  the  road.  No ! 
Can  it  be?  Yes,  there  is  a  dead  beggar,  and  he  will  lie  unburied,  per- 
haps for  days,  if  the  dogs  don't  save  the  work  from  the  coroner. 
"And  the  beggar  died!"  Will  lie  be  carried  by  angels  to  Abraham's 
bosom  ? 

The  driver  reins  up,  and  the  horses  come  to  a  halt.  We  have  stop- 
ped before  a  tea-house  of  whose  fame  we  have  heard,  and  man  and 
beast  are  refreshed.  The  drive-r  takes  brandy,  the  betto  tea,  and  the 


A  RIDE  ON  THE  TOKAIDO.  359 

horses  water.  The  first  drinks  from  a  tumbler,  the  second  from  a  cup  ; 
the  four-footed  drinkers  must  wait.  Pretty  girls  come  out  to  wish  us 
good-morning.  One,  with  a  pair  of  eyes  not  to  be  forgotten,  brings  a 
tray  of  tiny  cups  full  of  green  tea,  and  a  plate  of  red  sweetmeats,  beg- 
ging us  to  partake.  I  want  neither,  though  a  bit  of  paper-money  is 
placed  on  the  tray  for  beauty's  sake.  The  maid  is  about  seventeen, 
graceful  in  figure,  and  her  neat  dress  is  bound  round  with  a  wide  girdle 
tied  into  a  huge  bow  behind.  Her  neck  is  powdered.  Her  laugh  dis- 
plays a  row  of  superb  white  teeth,  and  her  jet-black  hair  is  rolled  in  a 
maidenly  style.  The  fairest  sights  in  Japan  are  Japan's  fair  daughters. 

This  tea-house  has  a  history.  Its  proprietress  is  familiarly  known 
among  all  foreigners  who  ride  on  the  Tokaido,  and  sit  on  her  mats  in- 
side, or  her  benches  in  front  beneath  the  trees,  as  "  Black-eyed  Susan." 
Her  eyes  deserve  their  renown,  and  her  face  its  fame.  Her  beauty  is 
known  throughout  the  land.  Many  a  story  is  told  about  princes  and 
noblemen  who  have  tried  to  lure  her  to  gem  their  harem.  She  refuses 
all  offers,  and  remains  the  keeper  of  herself  and  her  fortune.  Near  by 
Black-eyed  Susan's  stands  a  clump  of  trees.  It  was  near  this  place  that, 
in  1863,  poor  Richardson  lost  his  life  (see  Appendix).  He  sleeps  now 
in  Yokohama  cemetery.  It  saddens  us  to  think  of  it. 

Our  solemn  thoughts  are  dissipated  in  a  moment,  for  the  betto  is 
watering  the  horses.  He  gives  them  drink  out  of  a  dipper !  A  cup- 
ful of  water  at  a  time  to  a  thirsty  horse !  The  animal  himself  would 
surely  laugh,  if  he  were  not  a  Japanese  horse,  and  used  to  it. 

"  Sayonara !"  (farewell)  cry  the  pretty  girls,  as  they  bow  profound- 
ly and  gracefully,  and  the  stage  rolls  on.  We  pass  through  villages 
of  thatched  houses,  on  which,  along  the  ridge,  grow  beds  of  the  iris. 
Between  them  appear  landscapes  new  to  eyes  accustomed  to  grass 
meadows  and  corn-fields  and  winter  wheat  of  Pennsylvania.  Far  and 
wide  are  the  fallow  fields  covered  with  shallow  water,  and  studded 
with  rice-stubble.  All  the  flat  land  is  one  universal  rice-ditch.  The 
low  hills  are  timbered  with  evergreen.  The  brighter  tints  of  the 
feathery  bamboo  temper  the  intensity  of  the  sombre  glory.  Bamboo 
thickets,  pine  groves,  and  rice-fields — these  are  the  ever-present  sights 
in  Japan.  A  half-hour  through  such  scenery,  and  the  stage  stops  at 
Kawasaki  (river-point)  to  change  horses.  We  are  to  cross  the  Roku- 
go  River  in  boats.  The  road  bends  at  a  right  angle  toward  the  water, 
and  at  each  corner  is  a  large  tea-house,  full  of  noisy,  fat  girls,  anxious 
to  display  a  vulgar  familiarity  with  the  stranger.  Too  close  contact 
with  hostlers,  drivers,  and  the  common  sort  of  residents  in  Japan  has 


360 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


made  these,  doubtless  once  modest  and  polite  females,  a  pack  of  impu- 
dent wantons. 

I  am  not  charmed  by  the  too-willing  charmers,  and,  declining  the 
ever-proffered  cup  of  tea,  make  my  way  down  to  the  river,  passing 
four  toll-men,  who  squat  on  their  knees  at  the  receipt  of  custom,  pil- 
ing on  upright  skewers  the  square-holed  oval  and  round  coins  which 
the  travelers  deposit.  At  the  river's  edge,  a  flat-bottomed  boat,  crowd- 
ed with  people  of  every  class,  with  a  horse  or  two  on  board,  is  coining 
hitherward.  and  one  is  just  ready  to  push  off.  A  few  strokes  of  the 
pole,  and  we  are  over.  The  Japanese  have  used  this  river  for  centu- 
ries, and  have  never  yet  built  a  bridge.*  The  company  in  the  boat  is 
sometimes  rather  mixed.  It  has  not  escaped  Ilokusai's  pencil,  who 
made  an  album  of  Tokaido  sketches.  lie  has  jotted  down  at  the  side 


Crossing  the  Rokngo  Kiver  at  Kawasaki.    (Hokusai.) 

of  his  sketch  the  two  characters  signifying  Kawasaki  (river -point), 
which  all  travelers  to  Tokio  know  full  well.  Strange  to  say,  the  same 
river  in  Japan  often  has  many  local  names.  A  Japanese  geography 
rarely  thinks  it  necessary  to  describe  a  river  from  source  to  mouth. 
The  people  hereabouts  call  this  river  the  Rokugo,  and  the  foreigners, 
who  are  quite  sure  to  get  Japanese  names  upside  down,  have  corrupt- 
ed it  into  Logo,  or,  with  apparent  impiety,  Logos. 

The  stage  not  being  over  yet,  I  go  into  a  straw  hut,  in  which  a  fire 
warms  twenty-four  feet  shod  with  rice-straw  sandals,  and  the  smoke 
of  which  inflames  twenty-four  eyes  belonging  to  half  that  number  of 
such  specimens  of  humanity  as  constitute  the  bulk  of  Japan's  popula- 
tion, and  whom  foreigners  called  "  coolies."  Two  arms,  two  legs,  a 

*  An  iron  bridge  now  (1877)  spans  the  stream. 


A  HIDE  ON  THE  TdKAIDO.  361 

head,  and  trunk,  when  added  together  in  an  Asiatic  country,  do  not 
produce  the  same  sum  that  such  factors  would  yield  in  America. 
With  us  a  man  is  a  man.  In  Asiatic  countries  he  is  a  wheelbarrow,  a 
beast  of  burden,  a  political  cipher,  a  being  who  exists  for  the  sake  of 
his  masters  or  the  government.  The  men  before  me  wear  old,  unlined 
cotton  coats  and  straw  sandals  as  their  winter  dress.  In  summer  their 
wardrobe  consists  of  straw  sandals  and  a  rag  around  their  loins,  in  all 
about  thirty-six  linear  inches  of  decency.  Yet  the  tax-gatherer  visits 
them,  and  even  the  priests  glean  in  this  stubble  of  humanity.  Schools, 
law,  thought,  freedom,  votes !  These  are  unheard  of,  unimagined. 
Yet  they  were  polite  and  kind.  They  offer  the  foreigner  room  by  the 
fire,  until  the  smoke  drives  him  outside,  where  the  loathsome  beggars 
swarm  and  importune  in  the  language  of  the  houseless.  The  stage  is 
ready,  and,  taking  one  good  look  at  the  bright  new  railway  bridge  by 
which  hired  English  energy  and  loaned  capital  have  spanned  the  river, 
I  fold  myself  beneath  the  buffalo-robe,  and  the  driver  proceeds  to  tell 
me  of  the  treat  soon  in  store. 

The  ghastly  entertainment  was  at  hand.  Just  before  Shinagawa, 
the  suburb  of  great  Tokio,  by  the  side  of  the  road,  is  a  small  patch  of 
grassy  soil  only  slightly  raised  above  the  rice-ditches.  Here,  on  a  pil- 
lory about  six  feet  high,  two  human  heads  were  exposed,  propped,  and 
made  hideously  upright  by  lumps  of  clay  under  each  ear.  The  ooz- 
ing blood  had  stained  the  timber,  and  hung  in  coagulated  drops  and 
icicles  of  gore  beneath.  A  dissevered  head  absent  from  its  body  is 
horrible  enough,  but  a  head  shaven  in  mid-scalp  with  a  top-knot  on  it 
has  a  hitherto  unimagined  horror,  especially  Japanese. 

How  pleasant  it  would  be  to  mention  in  this  book  nothing  but  the 
beautiful !  How  easy  to  let  our  glamoured  eyes  see  naught  but  beau- 
ty and  novelty !  AVhy  not  paint  Japan  as  a  land  of  peerless  natural 
beauty,  of  polite  people,  of  good  and  brave  men,  of  pretty  maidens, 
and  gentle  women  ?  Why  bring  in  beggars,  bloody  heads,  loathsome 
sores,  scenes  of  murder,  assassins'  bravery,  and  humanity  with  all  no- 
bility stamped  out  by  centuries  of  despotism  ?  Why  not  ?  Simply 
because  homely  truth  is  better  than  gilded  falsehood.  Only  because 
it  is  sin  to  conceal  the  truth  when  my  countrymen,  generous  to  be- 
lieve too  well,  and  led  astray  by  rhetorical  deceivers  and  truth-sin oth- 
erers,  have  the  falsest  ideas  of  Japan,  that  only  a  pen  like  a  probe  can 
set  right.  No  pen  sooner  than  mine  shall  record  reforms  when  made. 
I  give  the  true  picture  of  Japan  in  1871. 

So  we  pass  these  bloody  symbols  of  Japan's  bloody  code  of  edicts, 


362  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

misnamed  laws,  by  which  she  terrifies  her  people  into  obedience,  and 
drive  on  through  the  narrow  road  past  fine,  large  houses,  clean,  shin- 
ing, and  pretty.  What  business  is  carried  on  in  those  edifices,  splen- 
did in  Japanese  eyes,  charming  to  a  foreigner,  and  appearing,  beside 
the  ordinary  citizen's  dwelling,  as  palaces  beside  cottages  ?  Scores  of 
them  are  ranged  along  the  road.  Shinagawa  is  the  home  of  harlots, 
and  here  is  the  resort,  not  only  of  the  ruffian,  the  rake,  and  the  robber, 
but  of  the  young  men  of  the  hind.  The  finest  houses  in  Japan  belong 
to  the  woman  in  scarlet.  The  licensed  government  brothel,  covering 
acres  of  land,  is  the  most  beautiful  part  of  the  capital.  Oriental  splen- 
dor— a  myth  in  the  streets — becomes  reality  when  the  portals  of  the 
Yoshiwara  are  crossed. 

Out  in  the  blue  bay  stands  the  chain  of  forts  built  by  the  shogun's 
government  after  the  arrival  of  Commodore  Perry.  Behind  them 
rides  at  anchor  the  national  navy  of  Japan,  all  floating  the  national 
flag — a  red  sun  on  a  white  field.  I  easily  recognize  the  old  iron-clad 
Stonewall,  now  the  Adzuma  kuan. 

Half-past  ten,  and  we  sweep  past  the  entrance  to  the  British  lega- 
tion. The  red  flag  and  crosses  of  England  wave  aloft,  and  the  red- 
coated  sentinel  paces  his  round.  Britons  will  long  remember  the  le- 
gation at  Takanawa.  Incendiarism  and  gunpowder  plots,  murderous 
attacks  by  night,  and  three  assassinations  by  daylight,  have  made  this 
ground  historic.  "  Killed  from  behind  "  are  the  words  that  have  blot- 
ted the  Japanese  escutcheon  with  scores  of  stains  as  indelible  as  those 
on  Bluebeard's  key.  Repeated  washing  in  the  fountain  of  indemnity 
and  blood-money  can  never  cleanse  it.  Not  far  from  the  British  le- 
gation are  the  tombs  of  the  Forty-seven  roriins  of  immortal  fame. 
We  have  passed  the  black  gate  at  Shinagawa,  and  are  in  the  city.  I 
see  to  the  left  the  Kosatsu — a  roofed  frame  of  wood,  on  which  hang 
boards  inscribed  in  Japanese  with  edicts  centuries  old,  yet  renewed  by 
the  present  government.  I  can  not  read  the  Chinese  ideographs,  but 
I  know  the  meaning  of  one  of  them — the  slanderous  and  insulting 
edict  that  denounces  the  Christian  religion  as  a  hateful  and  devilish 
sect,  and  hounds  on  every  bigot  and  informer  to  ferret  out  the  Chris- 
tians. This  is  the  foreigner's  welcome  to  Tokio  in  1871.  Does  the 
Japanese  capital  answer  to  the  description  in  the  old  geographies — "  a 
large,  park-like  city,  with  a  population  of  2,500,000?"  I  shall  see. 
Suburbs  are  usually  unprepossessing,  and  I  reserve  my  judgment.  At 
eleven  o'clock  we  drive  past  the  splendid  Monzeki  temple  of  the  Shin 
sect  of  Buddhists  and  into  the  yard  of  the  Great  Hotel  at  Tsukiji. 


IN  TOKIO,  THE  EASTERN  CAPITAL.  363 


III. 

IN  TOKIO,  THE  EASTERN  CAPITAL. 

I  WAS  a  stranger  in  a  wilderness  of  a  million  souls.  In  half  an  hour 
I  had  left  the  yard  of  the  huge  caravansary,  which  the  Japanese  who 
had  built  it  fondly  believed  to  be  a  comfortable  hotel,  and  was  on  my 
way  to  the  distant  quarter  of  the  city  in  which  was  situated  the  Im- 
perial College.  I  walked  by  preference,  as  I  had  studied  the  map  of 
Tokio,  and  some  rude  native  pictures  of  certain  landmarks  while  in 
America,  and  I  now  determined  to  test  the  soundness  of  my  knowl- 
edge. I  had  that  proficiency  in  speaking  the  language  which  five 
words  badly  pronounced  could  give.  Every  foreigner  who  sojourns 
in  Japan  for  a  week  learns  "  Sukoshi  matte"  (wait  a  little),  "Ikura?" 
(how  "much?),  "Doko?"  (where?),  "Yoroshiu"  (all  right),  and  "  Ha- 
yaku  "  (hurry).  With  these  on  my  tongue,  and  my  map  in  my  hand, 
I  started.  I  passed  through  the  foreign  quarter,  which  is  part  of  the 
old  district  called  Tsukiji  (tilled-up  land).  It  faces  the  river,  and  is 
moated  in  on  all  sides  by  canals.  It  is  well  paved,  cleaned,  and  light- 
ed, contrasting  favorably  with  the  streets  of  the  native  city.  The 
opening  of  Yedo  as  a  foreign  port  cost  a  great  outlay  of  money,  but 
as  a  settlement  was  a  failure,  partly  on  account  of  high  ground -rent, 
but  mainly  because  the  harbor  is  too  shallow.  Almost  the  only  per- 
sons who  live  in  Tsukiji  are  the  foreign  officials  at  the  consulates,  mis- 
sionaries, and  a  few  merchants.  I  walked  on,  interested  at  seeing  novel 
sights  at  every  step,  and  at  the  limits  passed  a  guard-house  full  of  sol- 
diers of  Maeda,  the  daimio  of  Kaga.  These  kept  watch  and  ward  rt 
a  black  gate,  flanked  by  a  high  black  paling  fence.  For  years  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  guard  all  the  approaches  to  the  foreign  quar- 
ter, and  keep  out  all  suspicious  two-sworded  men.  Incendiarism  and 
the  murder  of  the  hated  foreigners  were  favorite  amusements  of  the 
young  blades  of  Japan,  who  wished  both  to  get  the  shogun  in  trouble 
and  to  rid  their  beautiful  land  of  the  devilish  foreigners.  Every  ap- 
proach to  Yokohama  was  thus  guarded  at  this  time.  From  the  for- 
eign quarter  into  the  Yoslmvara  is  but  a  step.  Handsome  two-storied 


364  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

wooden  buildings,  open  to  the  street,  were  filled  with  pretty  young 
girls,  playing  upon  the  samisen  (banjo),  having  their  hair  dressed,  sit- 
ting idle,  or  engaged  at  their  toilet  mirrors.  Japanese  male  cynics  say 
that  a  looking-glass  is  the  mind  of  a  woman.  Handsome  streets  of 
neat  houses  extended  to  a  distance  of  half  a  mile  on  each  side,  from 
which  the  same  sounds  proceeded.  Why  were  these  houses  so  fine  ? 
Why  so  many  young  girls  gathered  ?  Here  were  beauty,  tender  years, 
soft  smiles,  and  luxurious  houses.  Here  were  little  girls  trained  to  do, 
when  grown,  as  the  oldor  girls.  For  what  purpose  ? 

In  every  port  open  to  foreigners  in  Japan,  in  a  few  of  the  other 
large  cities,  but  not  in  daimios'  capitals,  there  is  the  same  institution. 
It  is  Japan's  own.  Before  they  opened  any  port  to  foreign  trade,  the 
Japanese  built  two  places  for  the  foreigners  —  a  custom-house  and  a 
brothel.  The  Yoshiwara  is  such  a  place.  For  the  foreigners  they 
supposed  it  to  be  a  necessary  good ;  for  themselves,  a  protection  to 
their  people  against  ships'  crews  suddenly  set  free  on  land :  they  count- 
ed it  a  necessary  evil.  They  believed  the  foreigners  to  be  far  worse 
than  themselves.  How  far  were  they  wrong  ? 

We  proceed  through  the  quarter  into  streets  lined  with  open  shops. 
Privacy  is  not  at  a  premium  in  Japan.  One  might  live  at  home  for 
years  without  understanding  the  mysteries  of  a  lady's  toilet.  In  Japan 
one  learns  it  in  a  few  days.  Here  is  the  human  form  divine  bare  to 
the  waist,  while  its  possessor  laves  her  long  black  hair  in  warm  water. 
She  is  about  eighteen  years  old,  evidently.  Her  mirror,  powder-box, 
etc.,  lie  about  her.  There  is  a  mother  shaving  her  baby's  head.  The 
chief  occupation  of  the  shop-keepers  seems  to  be  that  of  toasting  their 
digits.  I  halt  at  a  shop  full  of  ivory  carvings.  Some  of  them  are 
elegant  works  of  art.  Some  are  puns  in  ivory.  Some  are  historical 
tableaux,  which  I  recognize  at  once.  These  trophies  of  the  geological 
cemeteries,  or  refrigerators,  of  Siberia  are  metamorphosed  into  what- 
ever form  of  beauty  and  grotesque  humor  the  lively  fancy  of  the 
carver  has  elected.  The  ivory  in  Japan  was  anciently  brought  from 
India,  but  in  later  times,  through  Corea,  from  the  shores  of  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  where  it  is  said  modern  dogs  feed  on  the  prehistoric  meat  of 
mammoths  and  mastodons  frozen  hard  ages  ago.  Nearly  all  the  ivory 
thus  imported  is  put  to  a  single  use.  It  is  carved  into  netsukes,  or  large 
buttons  perforated  with  two  holes,  in  which  a  silken  cord  is  riven,  and 
which  holds  the  smoking  apparatus,  the  vade  mecum,  of  the  native. 
Flint,  tinder,  and  steel  in  one  bag;  tobacco  in  another;  tiny -bowled, 
brass-tipped  bamboo  pipe,  in  a  case,  are  all  suspended  by  the  netsuki 


IN  TO  Kid,  THE  EASTERN  CAPITAL. 


305 


thrusi  up  through  the  girdle.     The  one  represented  in  the  accompa- 
nying cut  shows  how  a  Japanese  rider,  evidently  somebody,  from  his 
hempen  toque,  mounts  a  horse, 
i.  e.,  on  the  right  (or  wrong) 
side,  while  his  betto  holds  the 
steed. 

I  pass  through  one  street  de- 
voted to  bureaus  and  cabinets, 
through  another  full  of  folding 
screens,  through  another  full  of 
dyers'  shops,  with  their  odors 
and  vats.  In  one  small  but 
neat  shop  sits  an  old  man,  with 
horn  -  rimmed  spectacles,  with 

the  mordant  liquid  beside  him,    Netauke,  or  Ivory  Button,  for  holding  a  Gentle- 
1          .          .  man'B  Pipe  and  Pouch  iu  his  Girdle. 

preparing  a  roll  or  material  tor 

its  next  bath.  In  another  street  there  is  nothing  on  sale  but  bamboo- 
poles,  but  enough  of  these,  to  make  a  forest.  A  man  is  sawing  one, 
and  I  notice  he  pulls  the  saw  with  his  two  hands  toward  him.  Its 
teeth  are  set  contrary  to  ours.  Another  man  is  planing.  He  pulls 

the  plane  toward  him.  I  notice  a 
blacksmith  at  work :  he  pulls  the 
bellows  with  his  foot,  while  he  is 
holding  and  hammering  with  both 
hands.  He  has  several  irons  in 
the  tire,  and  keeps  his  dinner-pot 
boiling  with  the  waste  flame.  His 
whole  family,  like  the  generations 
before  him,  seem  to  "  all  get  their 
living  in  the  hardware  line."  The 
cooper  holds  his  tub  with  his  toes. 
All  of  them  sit  down  while  they  work.  How  strange  !  Perhaps  that 
is  an  important  difference  between  a  European  and  an  Asiatic.  One 
sits  down  to  his  work,  the  other  stands  up  to  it. 

"Why  is  it  that  we  do  things  contrariwise  to  the  Japanese  ?  Are  we 
upside  down,  or  they  ?  The  Japanese  say  that  we  are  reversed.  They 
call  our  penmanship  "  crab-writing,"  because,  say  they,  "  it  goes  back- 
ward." The  lines  in  our  books  cross  the  page  like  a  craw-fish,  instead 
of  going  doAvnward  "  properly."  In  a  Japanese  stable  we  find  the 
horse's  flank  where  we  look  for  his  head.  Japanese  screws  screw  the 


Pattern  Designer  preparing  a  Roll  of  Silk 
for  the  Dye-vat. 


366  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

other  way.  Their  locks  thrust  to  th^  left,  ours  to  the  right.  Th< 
baby-toys  of  the  Aryan  race  squeak  when  squeezed ;  the  Turanian  gim 
cracks  emit  noise  when  pulled  apart.  A  Caucasian,  to  injure  his  ene 
my,  kills  him  ;  a  Japanese  kills  himself  to  spite  his  foe.  Which  rac< 
is  left-handed  ?  Which  has  the  negative,  which  the  positive  of  truth 
What  is  truth  ?  What  is  down,  what  is  up  ? 

I  emerge  from  the  bamboo  street  to  the  Tori,  the  main  street,  tin 
Broadway  of  the  Japanese  capital.  I  recognize  it.  The  shops  an 
gayer  and  richer;  the  street  is  wider;  it  is  crowded  with  people 
Now,  for  the  first  time,  comes  the  intense  and  vivid  realization  tha 
this  is  Japan.  Here  is  a  kago,  with  a  woman  and  baby  inside.  Tw< 
half-naked  coolies  bear  the  pole  on  their  shoulders,  and  hurry  along 
grunting  in  Japanese.  They  bear  sticks  in  their  hands,  and  stop  a 
every  few  yards,  rest  the  beam  on  their  sticks,  and  change  shoulders 
Here  comes  an  officer  on  horseback,  with  a  lacquered  helmet  on  hi 
head,  and  bound  with  white  pads  over  his  chin.  His  two  swords  pro 
trude  from  his  girdle,  his  feet  rest  flat  in  wide  iron  stirrups,  curved  u] 
like  a  skate-runner,  and  have  room  to  spare.  His  saddle  has  enormou 
flaps  of  gilt  leather.  He  grasps  the  reins,  one  in  each  hand,  at  abou 
six  inches  from  the  bit,  holding  his  horse's  head  so  that  his  lower  li] 
is  higher  than  the  space  between  his  ears.  This  is  torture  and  grac 
combined.  It  is  the  stylish  thing  in  Japan.  The  horse's  mane  is  tie< 
up  in  a  row  of  stiff  pompoons ;  his  tail  is  incased  in  a  long  bag  o 
silk.  Enormous  tassels  hang  from  the  horse's  shoulders.  "  There  i 
a  method  in  riding,"  is  a  Japanese  saying.  I  believe  it. 

Here  are  soldiers,  so  I  judge.  They  are  dressed  in  every  style  o 
hybrid  costume.  One,  in  a  broadcloth  suit,  finishes  with  bare  hea< 
and  clogs  on  the  feet.  Another  has  a  foreign  cap,  but  a  Japanese  suit 
This  man  has  on  a  pair  of  cowhide  boots,  against  which  his  kilt  flap 
ungracefully,  reminding  one  of  an  American  tycoon  going  to  the  wel 
to  draw  water.  This  one  has  a  zouave  jacket  and  native  kilt.  Tin 
soldiers  look  as  if  they  had  just  sacked  New  York,  and  begun  01 
Chatham  Street.  The  braves  have  a  brace  of  stabbing  tools  stuck  ii 
their  belt.  They  are  the  two-swordcd  men,  and  insolent,  swaggerim 
bullies  many  of  them  arc.  As  they  pass  the  foreigner,  they  give  hin 
black  scowls  for  a  welcome.  They  are  chiefly  the  retainers  of  the  dai 
mios  of  Tosa,  Satsuma,  Choshiu,  and  Hizcn,  and  arc  pride-swollen  witl 
victory  over  the  rebels  at  Wakamatsu  and  Hakodate.  It  is  ticklish  t< 
walk  among  so  many  armed  fellows  who  seem  to  be  spoiling  for  for 
eign  blood.  Japanese  swords  are  quickly  drawn,  and  are  sharp.  N< 


IN  TOKIOt  THE  EASTERN  CAPITAL.  369 

true  man  is  really  afraid  when  his  enemy  attacks  in  front ;  but  to  be 
cut  down  by  a  coward  from  behind !  The  thought  makes  my  marrow 
curdle.  With  these  foolish  thoughts,  I  pass  along  for  about  a  mile 
unscathed,  for  I  have  not  yet  learned  the  Japanese,  and  have  read  Al- 
cock.  I  arrive  at  the  place  renowned  in  all  Japan.  The  Romans  had 
their  golden  mile-stone,  whence  all  distances  throughout  the  empire 
were  measured.  Here,  in  the  heart  of  Tokio,  is  Nihon  Bashi  (Bridge 
of  Japan),  whence,  so  it  is  said,  all  the  great  roads  of  the  empire  are 
measured.  I  had  heard  of  it  in  America.  All  rural  Japanese  know 
of  it.  All  expect,  without  warrant,  to  see  a  splendid  bridge,  and  all 
are  disappointed.  It  is  a  hump-backed  wooden  structure,  a  crazy  mass 
of  old  fire-wood.  It  is  lined  on  either  side  with  loathsome  beggars, 
asleep,  gambling,  playing,  or  begging.  Mendicant  priests  in  rags  chant 
doleful  prayers,  pound  stiff  drums  shaped  like  battledores.  The  vend- 
ers of  all  kinds  of  trash  cluster  around  it.  On  the  left,  as  we  ap- 
proach from  the  south,  stands  the  great  Kosatsu.*  On  the  bridge, 
glorious  Fuji  is  seen  in  the  distance,  and  near  by  the  towers,  moats, 

*  Three  of  these  edicts,  and  a  repetition  of  the  fourth,  are  given,  with  dates : 

"Board  No.  I. — Law. 

"  The  evil  sect  called  Christian  is  strictly  prohibited.  Suspicious  persons 
should  be  reported  to  the  proper  officers,  and  rewards  will  be  given. 

"  DAI  Jo  KUAN. 

"Fourth  year  Kei-6,  Third  month  (March  24th-April  22d,1868). 

"Board  No.  II. — Law. 

"Persons  uniting  together  in  numbers  for  any  object  soever  are  called  leag- 
uers ;  persons  leaguing  together  for  th  •  purpose  of  petitioning  in  a  forcible  man- 
ner are  called  insurrectionists ;  persons  who  conspire  i  .>  larve  the  ward  or  vil- 
lage in  which  they  live  are  called  runaways.  All  these  Gcti  are  strictly  prohib- 
ited. 

"Should  any  persons  commit  these  offenses,  information  must  at  once  be  giv- 
en to  the  proper  officers,  and  suitable  rewards  will  be  given.  DAI  Jo  KUAN. 

"Fourth  year  Kei-o,  Third  month  (March  24th-April  22d,  1868). 

"Board  No.  III. — Law. 

"  Human  beings  must  carefully  practice  the  principles  of  the  five  social  rela- 
tions. Charity  must  be  shown  to  widowers,  widows,  orphans,  the  childless,  and 
sick.  There  must  be  no  such  crimes  as  murder,  arson,  or  robbery. 

"  DAI  Jo  KUAN. 

"Fourth  year  Kei-6,  Third  month  (March  24th-April  22d,  186S). 

"Law. 

"With  respect  to  the  Christian  sect,  the  existing  prohibition  must  be  strictly 
observed. 

"Evil  sects  are  strictly  prohibited. 
"Fourth  mouth  of  the  First  year  of  Meiji  (November,  1868)." 


370  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

and  walls  of  the  castle.  Up  and  down  the  canal  cluster  hundreds  of 
boats,  and  a  range  of  fire-proof  store-houses  line  the  banks.  To  tlu 
east  is  seen  Yedo  Bashi,  or  Bridge  of  Yedo.  Turning  up  Suruga  Cho, 
with  Fuji's  glorious  form  before  me,  I  pass  the  great  silk  shop  and 
fire-proof  ware-houses  of  Mitsui,  the  millionaire ;  I  reach  the  castle 
moat  and  wall,  and  pass  by  the  former  mansion  of  Keiki,  the  last  sho- 
gun.  At  noon,  precisely,  I  arrive  at  the  house  of  the  American  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Imperial  College,  to  v^hom  I  bear  letters  and  credentials. 
Behind  black  fences,  high  and  hideous,  I  found  the  bungalows  oi 
the  dozen  foreign  teachers  of  the  college.  At  the  table  of  the  su- 
perintendent I  sat  down  to  take  "  tiffin,"  as  the  noon  meal  in  the  East 
is  called.  Congratulations  and  the  news  were  exchanged.  At  one 
o'clock  the  superintendent  returned  promptly  to  his  work,  and  the  new- 
comer remained  to  revel  among  the  books,  curiosities,  and  pictures  of 
his  genial  host.  When  school  is  over,  we  are  to  walk  out  to  Uyeno, 
to  see  the  ruins  of  the  battle  of  July  4th,  1868.  Two  hours  of  wait- 
ing pass  quickly,  and  at  a  little  after  three  o'clock,  hearing  a  strange, 
noisy  clatter,  I  run  out  by  the  gate  to  see  what  is  going  on.  The 
school  is  being  dismissed.  What  a  sight  for  a  school-master !  Hun- 
dreds of  boys,  young  men,  and  men  of  older  growth,  all  on  high  wood- 
en clogs,  are  shuffling  and  scraping  homeward.  The  noise  of  their 
clogs  on  the  rough  pebbles  of  the  street  makes  a  strange  clatter. 
They  are  all  dressed  in  the  native  costume  of  loose  coats,  with  long 
and  bag-like  sleeves;  kilts,  like  petticoats,  open  at  the  upper  side; 
with  shaven  mid-scalps,  and  top-knots  like  gun-hammers.  Men  and 
boys  carry  slates  and  copy-books  in  their  hands,  and  common  cheap 
glass  ink-bottles  slung  by  pieces  of  twine  to  their  girdles.  Hands 
and  faces  are  smeared  with  the  black  fluid ;  but,  strangest  of  all,  each 
has  two  of  the  murderous -looking  swords,  one  long  and  the  other 
short,  stuck  in  his  belt.  Symbols  of  the  soldier  rather  than  the  schol- 
ar are  these;  but  the  samurai  arc  both.  They  compose  the  "milita- 
ry-literary" class  of  Japan.  A  "  scholar  and  a  gentleman  "  is  our  pet 
compliment ;  but  in  Japan,  to  be  "  a  scholar,  a  soldier,  and  a  gentle- 
man," is  the  aspiration  of  every  samurai.  A  wild-looking  set  they 
seem,  but  the  heart  kindles  to  think  of  the  young  life  of  this  Asiatic 
empire  being  fed  at  the  streams  of  the  science  and  languages  of  Chris- 
tian nations.  In  spite  of  the  smeared  clothes  and  faces,  the  topsy-tur- 
vy top-knots,  and  average  slovenliness,  quite  natural  after  six  hours' 
school-boy's  work,  and  quite  different  from  the  morning's  spruceness, 
there  were  so  many  earnest  faces  that  the  school-master  abroad  was 


IN  TOKIO,  THE  EASTERN  CAPITAL.  371 

delighted,  and  felt  eager  to  join  in  the  work  of  helping  on  the  rising 
generation  and  grand  purpose  of  New  Japan. 

"  Education  is  the  basis  of  all  progress."  The  Japanese  found  it 
out.  The  Home  Department  of  the  new  imperial  government  in 
1870  reorganized  the  school,  originally  founded  by  the  bakufu,  and 
engaged  an  English  and  a  French  teacher  to  give  instruction.  Years 
before,  at  Nagasaki,  an  American  missionary,  whose  name  I  omit  only 
in  deference  to  his  sensitive  modesty,  had  taught  Japanese  young 
men,  sending  forth  scores  who  afterward  held  high  place  in  govern- 
ment counsels.  They  called  him  to  take  charge  of  their  chief  school 
in  Tokio.  In  January,  1869,  there  were  three  French,  three  German, 
and  five  English  teachers,  and  about  eight  or  nine  hundred  scholars. 
It  was  called  a  "  university ;"  its  proper  name  was  a  school  of  lan- 
guages. 

The  Japanese  had  very  primitive  ideas  concerning  the  fitness  of 
men  to  teach.  The  seclusion  of  Japan  for  nearly  three  hundred  years 
had  its  effect  in  producing  generations  of  male  adults  who,  compared 
to  men  trained  in  the  life  of  modern  civilization,  were  children.  Any 
one  who  could  speak  English  could  evidently  teach  it.  The  idea  of  a 
trained  professional  foreign  teacher  was  never  entertained  by  them. 
They  picked  up  men  from  Tokio  and  Yokohama.  The  "  professors  " 
at  first  obtained  were  often  ex-bar-tenders,  soldiers,  sailors,  clerks,  etc. 
When  teaching,  with  pipe  in  mouth,  and  punctuating  their  instruc- 
tions with  oaths,  or  appearing  in  the  class-room  top-heavy,  the  Japa- 
nese concluded  that  such  eccentricities  were  merely  national  peculiar- 
ities. As  for  "  Japanese  wives,"  they  were  in  many  houses,  and  this 
the  native  authorities  never  suspected  was  wrong,  or  different  from 
the  foreign  custom.  In  America  there  was  read  to  me  a  paper  on  the 
subject,  and  I  innocently  marveled  at  the  high  tone  of  Japanese  mo- 
rality. I'  found  out  afterward  that  the  clause  meant  that  the  foreign 
teachers  must  not  chano-e  mistresses  too  often.  One  American  in  To- 

~ 

kio  enjoyed  a  harem  of  ten  native  beauties.  Yet  there  were  some 
faithful  found  among  the  faithless,  and  real,  earnest  teachers.  Yet 
even  these  were  not  altogether  comprehensible  to  their  employers. 
One  man,  a  Christian  gentleman,  but  not  painfully  neat,  especially  in 
his  foot-gear,  having  the  habit  peculiar  to  a  certain  great  man  of  never 
lacing  up  his  shoes,  the  Japanese  director  of  the  school  solemnly  in- 
quired whether  the  gentleman  was  angry  at  the  officers.  They  sup- 
posed that  he  had  some  cause  of  complaint  against  them,  and  was 
showing  it  professionally  by  not  lacing  up  his  shoes.  They  were 


372  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

quite  relieved  on  being  informed  that  the  unlaced  boots  neither  fore- 
boded nor  expressed  dissatisfaction. 

It  was  a  Herculean,  nay,  rather  a  seemingly  impracticable,  task  to 
reduce  that  wild  chaos  of  humanity  to  order  and  system.  Here  were 
gathered  together  a  thousand  male  Japanese,  of  every  age,  and  from 
every  quarter  of  the  empire.  The  middle-aged  and  old  men,  who 
wished  to  learn  merely  to  read  and  translate,  and  not  to  speak,  a  for- 
eign language,  were  mostly  in  the  "meaning-school."  The  younger, 
though  some  were  over  thirty,  learned  the  alphabet,  spelling,  converia- 
tions,  writing,  and,  in  the  higher  classes,  geography,  arithmetic,  and 
simple  history.  The  buildings  were  rows  of  sheds  with  glass  win- 
dows, deal  desks  and  seats,  and  unpainted  wood  partitions. 

A  thousand  top-knots,  two  thousand  swords ;  as  many  clogs,  as 
many  suits  of  cotton  dress ;  a  thousand  pairs  of  oblique  eyes  that  saw 
not  as  the  eyes  of  the  Teuton,  the  Frank,  the  Briton,  or  the  American 
saw ;  a  thousand  rice-filled  stomachs ;  a  thousand  brains  filled  with 
the  ideas  instilled  by  the  old  education  of  Japan ;  a  thousand  pairs  of 
arms  trained  to  the  sword,  spear,  and  bow ;  a  thousand  restless  bodies 
that  chafed  under  foreign  school  discipline — all  these  together  made 
what  seemed  chaos  to  the  teacher  fresh  from  the  order  and  neatness 
of  an  American  school.  In  the  rickety  rooms  were  fire-pots  and  bam- 
boo tubes  doing  duty  as  ash-boxes ;  for  at  each  recess,  even  during 
recitation,  native  scholar  and  teacher  were  wont  to  pull  out  their  pipes 
and  fill  the  tiny  bowls  to  smoke. 

An  old  daimio's  yashiki  had  been  transformed  by  rows  of  sheds 
into  the  "  University."  According  to  Japanese  etiquette,  the  officers 
entered  at  one  door,  the  teachers  at  another,  the  scholars  at  a  third. 
As  the  school  began  somewhere  about  9  A.M.,  the  scholars  thronged 
along  the  stone  walk.  The  scraping  clatter  of  their  wooden  clogs  and 
pattens  was  deafening.  Each  came  to  school  wearing  his  t\Vo  swords. 
Entering  a  large  square  room,  each  delivered  his  clogs  to  one  of  the 
half-dozen  attendant  servants,  who,  hanging  them  up,  gave  the  owner 
a  wooden  check  branded  with  a  number.  In  another  room,  which 
looked  like  an  arsenal,  he  took  out  his  long  sword,  which  was  laid  on 
one  of  the  hundred  or  more  racks,  and  checked  as  before.  Hats  they 
never  wore,  and  so  were  never  troubled  to  hang  them  up.  There  was 
not  a  hat  in  Japan  a  decade  ago,  at  least  in  the  cylindrical  sense  of 
the  term.  When  the  Westernized  native  does  begin  to  wear  one,  he 
never  knows  at  first  where  to  put  it  when  off  his  head,  or  remembers 
it  when  he  goes  away  from  where  he  laid  it. 


IX  TOKIO,  THE  EAKTERN  CAPITAL.  373 

In  rainy  weather,  their  paper  umbrellas  were  stowed  away  and 
ticketed  in  the  same  manner  as  their  clogs.  Thus  despoiled,  in  bare 
feet,  or  in  mitten  -  stockings,  with  short  sword  in  belt,  from  which 
wooden  checks  depended,  the  scholars  entered  their  rooms.  The 
teacher,  not  always  early,  began  with  his  top-knots,  and  right  grandly 
did  the  young  eyes  snap  and  the  young  ideas  shoot.  With  such  ma- 
terial the  superintendent  went  on.  With  officers  utterly  unacquainted 
with  their  duties ;  teachers  of  all  sorts,  and  no  sort  at  all ;  undisciplined 
pupils,  having  to  combat  suspicion,  ignorance,  and,  worse  than  all, 
Japanese  vanity  and  conceit,  he  toiled  on  for  years,  the  final  result  be- 
ing morally  magnificent.  In  this  school  the  scholars  attended  but  one 
session,  being  divided  into  morning  and  afternoon  scholars.  Half  of 
them  messed  or  boarded  in  barracks  built  by  the  school ;  but  where 
they  went  at  night,  or  how  they  spent  their  spare  time,  was  no  one's 
business. 

The  mikado's  government  had  been  in  operation  in  Tokio  two  years, 
but  it  was  on  any  thing  but  a  stable  foundation.  Conspiracies  and 
rumors  we  had  for  breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper.  To-day,  Satsuma 
was  going  to  carry  off  the  mikado.  To-morrow,  the  "  tycoon  "  was  to 
be  restored.  The  next  day,  the  foreigners  were  to  be  driven  out  of 
Tokio,  and  then  out  of  Japan.  The  city  was  not  only  full  of  the 
turbulent  troops  of  the  jealous  daimios,  but  of  hundreds  of  the  Jo-i 
(or  foreigner-haters),  the  patriot  assassins,  who  thought  they  were  do- 
ing the  gods  service,  and  their  country  a  good,  in  cleaving  a  foreigner 
in  the  street. 

Before  I  left  America,  my  students  had  told  me  by  all  means  to 
take  a  revolver  with  me,  as  I  might  very  likely  meet  ronins.  I  had 
one  of  Smith  &  Wesson's  best.  Few  foreign  residents  ever  went  far 
from  their  houses  without  one,  and  many  wisely  kept  indoors  at  night, 
except  upon  urgent  duty.  About  fifty  foreigners  had  been  killed  in 
Japan  since  1859.  For  the  safety  of  the  teachers,  about  fifty  armed 
men,  called  bette,  were  kept  in  pay.  These  knights  were  dubbed 
"  Brown  Betties" — a  vile  pun,  evidently  by  an  American,  through  whose 
sad  memory  visions  of  that  appetizing  pudding  flittered,  as  he  mourn- 
ed its  absence,  with  that  of  buckwheat-cakes,  pumpkin-pies,  turkeys, 
and  other  home  delicacies.  Horses  were  kept  ready  saddled,  and  the 
bette  were  always  ready  to  accompany  man  or  horse.  It  was  impossi- 
ble to  slip  out  without  them.  By  a  curious  system  of  Japanese  arith- 
metical progression,  one  bette  accompanied  one  foreigner,  four  of  them 
went  with  two,  and  eight  with  three.  One  would  suppose  that  a  sin- 


374  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

gle  foreigner  was  in  greater  danger  than  when  with  a  companion. 
The  first  afternoon  I  walked  to  see  the  ruins  of  Uyeno,  once  the  glory 
of  the  city,  with  my  host.  I  noticed  one  guard  kept  always  with  us. 
Not  being  counted  a  protege,  I  often  went  on  my  rambles  alone.  I 
was  never  harmed,  though  I  got  an  occasional  scowl,  and  was  often 
obliged  to  pass  along  narrow  and  lonely  streets,  in  which  villainous- 
looking  men,  with  two  murderous-looking  swords  in  their  belts,  were 
numerous. 

Among  the  many  sites  in  the  city  from  which  one  can  get  a  view 
of  Fuji  from  base  to  summit,  are  Atago  yama,  the  top  of  Kudan  zaka, 
and  Suruga  Dai,  or  elevation,  so  named  from  the  fact  that  you  behold 
the  lordly  mountain  as  though  you  were  in  Suruga  itself. 


View  of  Fuji,  from  Suruga  Dai,  iu  Tokio. 

One  afternoon  I  had  been  out  walking  to  Asakusa  and  Uyeno  with 
the  only  American  teacher  in  the  school  at  that  time,  and,  after  a  long 
tramp,  returned  to  recount  what  I  had  seen,  and  to  consult  my  host. 
We  agreed,  the  morrow  being  a  holiday,  to  make  an  excursion  to  the 
lovely  suburban  retreat  Oji,  just  outside,  to  the  north  of  Tokio.  After 
an  evening  among  maps,  note-books,  and  letters,  as  usual,  I  retired  to 
rest.  I  was  a  sound  sleeper,  and  noticed  nothing  during  the  night. 
About  4  A.M.  my  host  appeared  at  my  door,  and,  in  a  rather  sepulchral 
tone,  informed  me  that  we  could  not  go  to  Oji  that  day.  There  had 
been  great  changes  during  the  night,  and  two  teachers  of  the  school 
had  been  cut  down  in  the  streets. 

I  dressed  hurriedly,  and  at  our  hasty  breakfast  by  the  lamp  I  learn- 
ed the  story  of  the  night.  It  was  a  simple  one,  but  bloody  enough. 
The  two  men  had  gone  to  Tsukiji,  and  there  dismissed  their  guards. 
Presuming  upon  their  supposed  safety,  and  being  wholly  unarmed, 
they  started  to  another  part  of  the  city,  not  far  from  the  school. 
From  their  own  story,  they  were  quietly  walking  along  one  of  the 
streets.  The  tallest  of  them  suddenly  received  such  a  blow  from  be- 


IN  TOKIO,  THE  EASTERN  CAPITAL.  37 5 

hind  that  he  fell,  supposing  that  sonic  one  had  knocked  him  down 
with  a  bamboo  or  club.  Almost  before  he  fell,  his  companion  re- 
ceived a  frightful  cut  on  the  opposite  shoulder.  Both  then  knew  they 
had  received  sword -wounds,  and  they  both  started  to  run.  The  first 
one  attacked  ran  up  the  street  into  an  open  paper-shop,  begging  the 
people  to  bind  up  his  wounds,  and  send  word  to  the  college.  The 
second,  being  the  last  on  his  feet,  was  overtaken  by  his  pursuer,  who 
dealt  him  a  second  sweeping  two-handed  blow,  which  cut  a  canal 
across  his  back  from  right  shoulder  to  left  hip,  nearly  eleven  inches 
long.  He  gained  the  paper-shop,  however,  and  begged  the  people  to 
stanch  his  wounds  with  the  thick,  soft  Japanese  paper.  After  giving 
their  address,  and  bidding  the  people  send  for  a  doctor  and  a  school 
officer,  they  fainted  away  from  loss  of  blood.  They  were,  when  I  saw 
them,  lying  asleep  at  the  paper- shop,  native  doctors  having  reached 
them  and  skillfully  bound  up  their  wounds. 

We  left  the  college  at  half-past  four,  well  armed,  and  accompanied 
by  a  servant  carrying  a  lantern.  We  passed  down  the  street  skirting 
the  castle  moat  to  the  Tori.  It  was  very  dark,  and  the  city  was  in 
unbroken  slumber.  The  only  sight  was  the  night  roundsman  pacing 
his  beat,  lantern  in  his  left  hand,  and  jingling  an  iron  staff,  surmount- 
ed by  bunches  of  rings  on  the  top,  which  he  thumped  on  the  ground 
at  every  few  steps,  crying  out,  "Hi  no  yojin"  (look  out  for  fire).  Here 
and  there,  in  nooks  and  corners,  we  saw  a  beggar  curled  up  under  his 
mats.  We  finally  reached  the  house  in  Nabe  Clio  (Rice-pot  Street). 
We  entered  by  a  side  door,  and  found  in  the  back-room,  sitting  and 
smoking  round  the  hibachi,  six  or  eight  interpreters  and  Japanese 
teachers  from  the  college.  Sliding  aside  the  paper  partitions,  we  look- 
ed into  the  front  room,  and,  by  the  light  of  our  lanterns,  saw  the  two 
wounded  men,  one  with  head  bandaged  and  face  upward,  the  other 
lying  prone,  with  back  tightly  swathed,  asleep,  and  breathing  heavily. 
We  waited  till  daylight,  when  they  woke  up  and  told  us  their  story. 
The  skillful  surgeon  of  the  English  legation  arrived  shortly  after, 
commending  highly  the  skill  displayed  by  the  native  surgeons  in  bind- 
ing up  the  wounds. 

I  spent  several  days  and  nights  in  the  house,  attending  the  patients. 
The  wounds  of  one  were  of  a  frightful  character ;  that  of  the  other  was 
upon  the  head  and  shoulder-blade.  The  blow  had  grazed  the  skull, 
and  cut  deeply  into  the^  fleshy  part  of  the  back.  It  was  not  dangerous  : 
in  a  few  days  he  sat  up,  and  the  wound  rapidly  healed.  For  several 
days  the  weakness  arising  from  the  loss  of  blood  and  the  wound-fever 


376  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

threatened  to  end  the  life  of  his  companion.  One  of  his  ribs  was 
nearly  severed,  and  both  gashes  were  long  and  deep.  He  had  to  be 
handled  very  tenderly.  After  seven  days,  however,  they  were  able  to 
be  removed  to  their  own  house,  and,  as  they  had  provided  other  nurses, 
my  services  were  no  longer  required. 

I  took  the  early  stage  on  the  morning  of  the  attack,  and  carried 
the  news  to  Yokohama.  The  mikado's  Government,  with  astonishing 
energy,  immediately  took  steps  to  discover  the  assassins,  using  the 
most  strenuous  exertions.  Every  one  leaving  the  city  or  passing  the 
gates  was  searched.  Every  samurai  in  Tokio  was  obliged  to  give  an 
account  of  his  whereabouts  from  sunset  to  sunrise  of  that  evening. 
Every  sword  worn  in  Tokio  was  examined  to  discover  blood  -  stains, 
which  can  not  be  removed  except  by  grinding.  Every  sword -maker 
and  grinder  was  questioned.  I  know  of  several  small  boys  who  felt 
highly  elated  at  the  great  and  rare  honor  of  having  a  posse  of  pomp- 
ous government  officials  gravely  examine  their  swords,  according  to  or- 
ders. Nothing  gave  one  so  real  an  idea  of  the  sincerity  and  ability  of 
the  Government,  and  its  determination  to  reform  barbarous  customs, 
as  their  energy  on  this  occasion.  The  stage  which  carried  me  to 
Yokohama  was  stopped  at  the  ShinagaAva  guard-house  by  a  man  armed 
with  a  barbed  hook,  to  examine  any  Japanese  that  might  be  within. 

The  excitement  among  the  foreigners  in  Tokio  next  morning  was 
intense.  Prophets  went  round  prophesying  that  in  a  week  Tokio 
would  be  deserted  of  foreigners.  A  certain  consul  posted  up  a  notice 
in  a  public  place — in  a  bar-room,  I  believe — authorizing  any  citizen  of 
his  nationality,  should  any  Japanese  be  seen  laying  his  hand  on  his 
sword,  "  to  shoot  him  on  the  spot."  The  most  violent  and  inflamma- 
tory language  appeared  in  the  newspapers.  Some  hot-headed  folks  at 
Yokohama  held  a  meeting,  and  resolved  that  the  Japanese  Government 
should  disarm  the  samurai,  by  ordering  the  immediate  abolition  of 
the  custom  of  wearing  swords.  Yokohama  residents  whose  business 
brought  them  to  Tokio,  though  belted  and  with  two  revolvers,  saw  in 
every  Japanese  boy  or  coolie  an  assassin.  A  nightmare  of  samurai, 
swords,  blood,  bleeding  heads  and  arms,  grave-stones,  and  grim  death 
brooded  over  the  foreigners.  "  The  beaten  soldier  fears  tho  tops  of 
the  tall  grass." 

Amidst  this  panic  of  fear,  two  mild  and  gentle  countrymen  of  mine — 
one  a  missionary  who  had  lived. in  Japan  and  among  the  people  seven 
years,  and  another  who  for  months  had  gone  among  them  day  and 
night  unarmed — opened  my  eyes.  Even  the  sworded  samurai  became 


IN  TdKIO,  THE  EASTERN  CAPITAL.  377 

in  my  vision  as  harmless  as  trees  walking.  I  saw  that  the  affair,  which 
had  frightened  some  men  out  of  their  wits,  concerned  a  gentleman 
about  as  much  as  a  murder  in  Water  Street,  or  the  Five  Points,  con- 
cerns a  law-loving  citizen  of  New  York,  who  attends  quietly  to  his 
business.  I  soon  put  away  my  revolver,  and  began  the  study  of  facts 
relating  to  the  many  cases  of  "  assassination  "  of  foreigners  in  Japan. 
In  every  instance,  since  the  restoration  of  peace  after  the  troubles  of 
the  civil  war,  it  was  a  story  of  overbearing  insolence,  cruelty,  insult, 
the  jealousy  of  paramours,  native  women,  or  avarice,  or  the  effect  of 
causes  which  neither  fair  play  nor  honor  could  justify. 

During  my  stay  of  nearly  four  years  in  Japan,  several  Europeans 
were  attacked  or  killed ;  but  in  no  case  was  there  a  genuine  assassina- 
tion, or  unprovoked  assault.  I  was  led  to  see  the  horrible  injustice  of 
the  so-called  indemnities,  the  bombardments  of  cities,  the  slaughter  of 
Japanese  people,  and  the  savage  vengeance  wreaked  for  fancied  in- 
juries against  foreigners.  There  is  no  blacker  page  in  history  than 
the  exactions  and  cruelties  practiced  against  Japan  by  the  diplomatic 
representatives  of  the  nations  called  Christian — in  the  sense  of  having 
the  heaviest  artillery^  In  their  financial  and  warlike  operations  in 
JapanTthe  foreign  ministers  seem  to  have  acted  as  though  there  was 
no  day  of  judgment.  Of  the  Japanese  servants  kicked  and  beaten, 
or  frightened  to  death,  by  foreign  masters ;  of  peaceable  citizens  knock- 
ed down  by  foreign  fists,  or  ridden  over  by  horses ;  of  Japanese  homes 
desolated,  and  innocent  men  and  women,  as  well  as  soldiers,  torn  by 
shells,  and  murdered  by  unjust  bombardments,  what  reparation  has 
been  made  ?  What  indemnity  paid  ?  What  measures  of  amelioration 
taken  for  terrible  excess  of  bloody  revenge  at  Kagoshima  and  Shimo- 
noseki  ?  What  apology  rendered  ?  For  a  land  impoverished,and  torn, 
for  the  miseries  of  a  people  compelled  by  foreigners,  for  the  sake  of 
their  cursed  dollars,  to  open  their  country,  what  sympathy  ?  For  their 
cholera  and  vile  diseases,  their  defiling  immorality,  their  brutal  violence, 
their  rum,  what  benefits  in  return  ?  Of  real  encouragement,  of  cheer 
to  Japan  in  her  mighty  struggle  to  regenerate  her  national  life,  what 
word  ?  Only  the  answer  of  the  horse-leech — for  blood,  blood  ;  and  at 
all  times,  gold,  gold,  gold.  They  ask  all,  and  give  next  to  nothing. 
For  their  murders  and  oppressions  they  make  no  reparation.  Is 
Heaven  always  on  the  side  of  the  heaviest  artillery  ? 


378  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


IV. 

SIGHTS  AND  SOUNDS  IN  A  PAGAN  TEMPLE. 

THE  temple  of  Kuanon  at  Asakusa  is  to  Tokio  what  St.  Paul's  is 
to  London,  or  Notre  Dame  to  Paris.  The  chief  temple  of  the  city, 
the  most  popular  religious  resort,  one  never  sees  the  Japanese  capital 
till  he  sees  Asakusa.  Like  Notre  Dame,  it  is  ancient,  holy,  dirty,  and 
grand,  with  pigeons  and  priests,  and  bazaars  and  book-stalls  near  by 
to  match. 

Asakusa  is  now  the  name  of  a  district  of  the  city,  which  anciently 
was  a  village.  The  temple  is  about  three  miles  from  the  centre  of 
the  castle,  and  two  from  Nihon  Bashi,  and  at  the  time  of  its  erection 
was  a  remote  suburb.  It  is  but  a  short  distance  from  the  river,  and 
Asakusa  bridge  and  Asakusa  ferry  have  been  made  chiefly  for  the 
convenience  of  the  pious,  gay,  and  curious,  to  cross  the  Sumida  River 
to  visit  the  great  temple,  gardens,  and  pleasure-grounds,  many  acres 
in  extent.  These  latter  a  Japanese  temple  must  always  have,  whether 
Buddhist  or  Shinto.  In  them  are  fairs,  refreshments,  booths,  eating, 
smoking,  dancing,  and  every  gay  sport  and  pleasure  known.  To  the 
Japanese  mind  there  is  no  incongruity  in  this  placing  a  temple  cheek 
by  jowl  with  a  theatre.  To  cast  his  cash  in  the  box  of  offerings,  to 
pray,  are  but  preludes  to  uproarious  mirth  or  sedate  enjoyments.  Re- 
ligion and  innocent  pleasure  join  hands  in  Japan.  Are  the  Japanese 
wrong  in  this? 

Two  grand  entrances  invite  the  visitor.  One  opens  to  the  river. 
The  main  approach  forms  the  terminus  of  an  avenue  that  traverses 
the  city,  and  joins  the  broad  street  fronting  Asakusa  at  right  angles. 
Up  and  down  this  street,  on  either  side,  for  rods,  are  restaurants  and 
houses  where  the  famed  singing-girls  of  Tokio  make  music,  song,  and 
dance.  The  path  to  the  temple  is  of  stone,  twelve  feet  wide,  with 
side  pavements,  upon  which  are  ranged  hundreds  of  booths  having  on 
sale  a  gorgeous  abundance  of  toys,  dolls,  and  every  thing  to  delight 
the  eyes  of  babydom.  Perpetual  Christmas  reigns  here.  "  Every 


SIGHTS  AND  SOUNDS  IN  A  PAGAN  TEMPLE. 


379 


street  in  Paris  is  like  Broadway,"  said  a  French  mademoiselle  to  a 
New  York  lady.  Every  day  at  Asakusa  is  a  festival;  but  on  the 
great  matsuris,  or  religious  holidays,  the  throng  of  gayly  dressed  hu- 
manity of  all  ages,  is  astonishing.  Every  one  in  Japan  has  heard  of 
Asakusa.  One  never  fairly  sees  open-air  Japanese  life,  except  at  a 
nmtsuri.  There  is  nothing  strange,  however,  to  the  Japanese  mind 
in  this  association  of  temples  and  toy-shops.  The  good  bonzes  in 
their  sermons  declare,  as  the  result  of  their  exegesis  and  meditations, 
that  husbands  are  bound  to  love  their  wives,  and  show  it  by  allowing 
them  plenty  of  pin-money  and  hair-pins,  and  to  be  not  bitter  against 
them  by  denying  them  neat  dresses  and  handsome  girdles.  The 
farmer  who  comes  to  town  with  his  daughter,  turns  from  prayer  to 
the  purchase  of  pomatum  or  a  mirror.  Every  sort  of  toy,  game,  hair- 
ornaments  in  illimitable  variety  ;  combs,  rare  and  beautiful,  and  cheap 
and  plain ;  crapes  for  the  neck  and  bosom ;  all  kinds  of  knickknacks, 
notions,  and  varieties  are  here ;  besides  crying  babies ;  strings  of  beads 

for  prayer;  gods  of  lead,  brass, 
and  wood ;  shrines  and  family 
altars,  sanctums,  prayer  -  books, 
sacred  bells,  and  candles. 

Chapels  and  special  shrines, 
many  of  them  the  expiatory  gifts 
of  rich  sinners,  lie  back  of  the 
booths  on  each  side  of  the  road- 
way. On  their  walls  hang  votive 
tablets  and  pictures  of  various 
sorts.  In  one  of  the  booths,  an 
old  artist,  with  his  two  brushes 
in  one  hand,  is  painting  one. 
His  cheap  productions  will  sell 

for  five  or  ten  cents.  He  looks  as  though  he  were  laughing  at  his 
own  joke,  for  his  subject  is  a  pictorial  pun  on  the  word  "fool"  (baka ,: 
ba,  a  horse ;  ka,  a  stag).* 

*  The  allusion  is  to  the  act  of  the  Chinese  prime  minister  at  the  court  of  the 
Chinese  emperor,  who  was  the  son  of  the  illustrious  builder  of  the  Great  Wall. 
He  declared  that  a  stag  could  be  called  a  horse,  and  a  horse  a  stag.  The  courtiers 
were  compelled  to  obey  him.  This  is  the  origin  of  the  Japanese  word  baka,  which 
the  Japanese  urchins  sometimes  cry  at  foreigners,  and  one  of  the  first  words  the 
latter  learn  to  throw  at  the  natives.  The  particular  digital  gesture  of  sticking 
the  left  forefinger  in  the  left  side  of  the  mouth  is  the  Japanese  equivalent  of  the 
soliloquy,  "What  a  fool  I  am  !"  or  the  interrogation,  "  You  think  I'm  a  fool,  don't 


Artist  at  Work. 


380  TlfE  MIKADVS  EMPIRE. 

The  incense  of  smoldering  "  joss-sticks  "*  is  wafted  outward,  and 
blends  with  the  savory  odors  of  baking -sponge  and  griddle -cakes, 
roasting  nuts,  and  the  disgusting  smell  of  cuttle-fish  fried  in  oil,  made 
from  sesame  (Sesamum  Orientalis).  I  never  knew  till  I  arrived  in 
the  Land  of  the  Gods  why  the  door  of  the  cave  of  the  Forty  Thieves 
opened  so  easily  when  Ali  Baba  uttered  the  potent  words,  "  Open 
sesame."  I  know  now.  Let  any  one  get  ten  feet  to  windward  of  a 
frying-pan  full  of  sesame  oil,  and  he  will  find  it  strong  enough  to 
open  twenty  doors.  There,  two  lusty  fellows  are  pulling  away  at  a 
colossal  rope  of  barley-sugar  candy,  now  stretching,  now  twisting, 
now  doubling,  until  the  proper  consistence  and  fibre  are  obtained. 
Down  on  the  ground,  at  intervals,  we  find  an  old  woman,  or  a  young 
girl,  selling  what  seem  to  be  little  slips  of  frayed  wood,  which,  dropped 
on  water,  open  into  surprising  forms  of  beauty.  The  uniform  trifles 
unfold  into  variety,  displaying  a  flower,  a  boat,  a  tree,  a  bird,  a  rat, 
a  fisherman,  a  man,  Fuji,  a  bottle,  a  cup,  a  bug,  an  animal.  Some  are 
jokes  and  comic  pictures. 

Before  the  temple  proper  stands  a  colossal  structure,  serving  merely 
as  a  gate-way,  of  red  painted  wood,  almost  seventy  feet  high.  Facing 
us  on  either  side  as  we  enter  are  the  high  colored  demons  Ni-o  (two 
kings),  whom  we  must  propitiate.  Each  is  higher  than  Goliath  of 
Gath :  one  is  green,  and  the  other  red.  "As  ugly  as  sin,"  is  faint 
praise  of  their  hideousness.  Their  faces  and  muscles  are  contorted 
into  fanciful  corrugations,  and  their  attitude  is  as  though  they  were 
going  to  transfix  us  heretics.  Fastened  to  the  grating  in  front  of  them 
are  straw  sandals,  such  as  laborers  and  rustics  wear.  Some  of  these 
are  big  enough  to  shoe  a  megatherium.  They  are  hung  up  by  people 
with  sore  feet,  to  propitiate  the  demons  and  to  seek  recovery.  In 
front  of  the  gate  and  tinder  it,  in  two  rows,  sit  pious  beggars,  mostly 
women,  who  beat  on  hollow  shells  of  wood,  like  enormous  stale  clams 
or  gaping  sleigh-bells,  and  say  prayers  for  their  donors  at  a  low  price. 
The  faithful  drop  a  few  iron  cash,  or  a  single  copper,  to  one  or  more 
of  these  hags  as  they  pass  on. 

Passing  within  the  gate,  we  are  in  the  temple  yard.  To  the  right 
is  a  huge  lavatory,  the  people  washing  their  hands,  and  rinsing  their 

you?"  The  artist  is  thinking  how  foolish  he  is  thus  to  spend  his  days  in  painting 
cheap  pictures  for  a  precarious  means  of  subsistence.  He  is  thus  caricaturing 
himself. 

*  Joss  is  the  Chinaman's  pronunciation  of  the  Portuguese  word  Deos — Latin, 
Deus. 


SIGHTS  AND  SOUNDS  IN  A  PAGAN  TEMPLE. 


381 


mouths,  preparatory  to  worship.     A  pagoda  rises  to  the  right  with  its 
seven  stories,  its  heavy  eaves  fringed  with  wind-bells,  its  beams  tipped 

with  carvings,  and  its  roof 
terminating  into  a  projec- 
tion called  the  kiu-do  (nine 
rings),  resembling  an  enor- 
mous copper  turning  just 
rolled  from  the  lathe,  or  a 
corkscrew  such  as  might  be 
used  to  uncork  a  columbiad. 
To  climb  to  the  top  is  to 
run  the  risk  of  dislocating 
the  neck,  and  the  view  does 
not  repay.  In  time  of  se- 
vere earthquake,  this  pago- 
da spire  will  vibrate  like  a 
plume  on  a  helmet.  Of 
course,  in  the  picture,  the 
artist  must  bring  in  the 
snow-white  cranes,  and  Fuji. 
On  the  top  is  the  jewel,  or 
sacred  pearl,  so  conspicuous 
in  Japanese  art  and  symbol- 
ism, and  which,  on  the  coins 
and  paper  money,the  dragon 
ever  clutches  in  his  talons. 

On  my  left  stands  a  large  plain  frame  of  wood,  on  which  hang  tal- 
lies, or  tablets,  inscribed  with  names  and  sums  of  money.  They  are 
those  of  subscribers  to  the  temple,  and  the  amount  of  their  contribu- 
tions. One,  five,  and  ten  dollars  are  common  gifts,  and  the  one  hun- 
dred-dollar donor  is  honored  with  a  larger  amount  of  shingle  to  ad- 
vertise his  religion.  Several  old  women  have  stands,  at  which  they 
sell  holy  beans,  pious  pease,  and  sanctified  rice.  These  are  kept  ready 
in  tiny  earthen  saucers.  The  orthodox  buy  these,  and  fling  them  to 
the  cloud  of  pigeons  that  are  waiting  on  the  temple  eaves,  and  fly, 
whirring  down,  to  feed.  Ten  thousand  sunbeams  flash  from  their 
opaline  necks  as  their  pink  feet  move  coquettishly  over  the  ground. 
Two  enormous  upright  bronze  lanterns  on  stone  pedestals  flank  the 
path,  and  on  these  flocks  of  pigeons  quickly  rise  and  settle  again. 
These  pigeons  have  their  home,  not  only  without  but  within  the  tern 


Pagoda  Spire,  or  Kiu-do.    (Nishiki-ye.) 


882  THE  MIKADO'S 

pie,  over  the  very  altars  of  Great  Shaka.  Even  the  pigeon  hath  found 
a  rest  where  she  may  lay  her  young,  even  thine  altars,  Great  Shaka. 
Their  cooing  blends  with  the  murmurs  of  prayer,  and  the  whirring  of 
their  wings  with  the  chant  of  the  bonzes. 

Besides  the  pigeons,  there  are  two  sacred  Albino  ponies  kept  in  a 
stable  to  the  left.  They  are  consecrated  to  the  presiding  deity,  Kua- 
non,  Goddess  of  Mercy.  A  young  girl  has  the  care  of  them,  and  they 
are  fed  by  the  pious,  who,  as  a  religious  and  meritorious  act,  buy  the 
beans  and  pease  with  which  the  animals  are  fed. 

The  most  imposing  feature  of  a  Japanese  temple  is  the  roof  of 
massive  black  tiles,  sweeping  up  in  a  parabolic  curve  of  the  immense 
surface,  which  make  enormous  gables  at  the  side.  One  is  impressed 
with  the  solidity  of  the  timbers  and  supports,  which  are  set  firmly  but 
loosely  in  stone  sockets,  and  defy  the  earthquake  in  a  manner  that  re- 
calls ^fEsop's  fable  of  the  oak  and  the  reed.  We  ascend  the  broad  cop- 
per-edged steps  to  the  broader  porch,  and  are  on  the  threshold  of  the 
great  pagan  temple,  so  holy,  so  noisy,  so  dirty.  Within  its  penetra- 
lium,  we  try  to  feel  reverent.  How  can  we,  with  a  crowd  of  eager, 
curious,  dirty  faces,  with  dirty  babies  behind  them,  with  unclean  pig- 
eons whirring  above  us  to  the  threatened  detriment  of  our  hats  ?  With- 
in is  a  chaos  of  votive  tablets,  huge  lanterns,  shrines,  idols,  spit-balls, 
smells,  dust,  dirt,  nastiness,  and  holiness.  Immediately  within  the  door 
stands  a  huge  bronze  censer,  with  a  hideous  beast  rampant  upon  it. 
He  seems  maddened  by  the  ascending  clouds  of  irritating  incense 
that  puff  out  of  numerous  holes  around  the  edge.  The  worshipers, 
as  they  enter,  drop  an  iron  or  copper  cash  in  the  lap  of  the  black- 
toothed  crone  who  keeps  the  sacred  fuel,  put  a  pinch  in  one  of  the 
holes,  and  pass  in  front  of  the  altar  to  pray.  Around  the  top  of  the 
censer  are  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Japanese  zodiac,  in  high  relief. 
These  are  the  rat,  ox,  tiger,  rabbit,  dragon,  serpent,  horse,  goat,  mon- 
key, cock,  dog,  hog. 

The  great  main  altar  is  protected  in  front  by  an  iron  wire  screen. 
Each  worshiper,  before  praying,  makes  a  "  heave-offering  "  of  a  hand- 
ful of  cash  into  the  huge  coffer  before  the  altar.  Occasionally  one, 
with  pious  intent,  throws  what  we  would  call  a  spit-ball  at  the  screen. 
What  an  idea !  The  worshiper  writes  out  his  petition,  chews  it  to  a 
pulp  in  his  mouth,  and  throws  it  at  the  idol.  If  it  sticks,  the  omen  is 
good,  the  prayer  is  heard.  Hearing,  then,  depends  on  the  softness  of 
the  mass,  or  the  salival  ability  and  dexterity  of  the  thrower.  Some 
of  the  images  in  the  outer  shrines  are  speckled  all  over  with  these  out- 


SIGHTS  AND  SOUNDS  IN  A  PAGAN  TEMPLE.  383 

spittings  of  pious  mouths.  The  coins  and  balls  might  injure  the  ai- 
tar  furniture  and  golden  idols,  if  not  protected. 

The  space  opposite  the  altar  is  filled  by  praying  people  of  every 
sort.  Mothers,  maidens,  and  children,  old  men  and  boys,  samurai  and 
merchant  and  farmer,  country  boors,  city  swells,  soldiers  in  French  uni- 
form with  sword-bayonets  at  their  side,  a  la  Paris,  all  fling  the  coin, 
bow  the  head,  rub  the  hands  above  the  head.  Many  use  strings  of 
beads,  like  the  Roman  Catholics.  Prayers  at  the  main  altar  over,  the 
devotee  may  visit  one  or  more  of  the  many  side  shrines  within  the 
building.  To  the  right  sits  the  ugly  and  worn-out  god  Binzuru  (one 
of  Buddha's  original  sixteen  disciples),  reputed  to  cure  diseases.  There 
is  a  mother  with  two  children  rubbing  the  dirty  old  wooden  head  and 
limbs,  and  then  applying  the  supposed  virtue  to  their  own  bodies  by 
rubbing  them.  The  old  idol  is  polished  greasy  and  black  by  the  at- 
trition of  many  thousand  palms.  His  nose,  ears,  eyes,  and  mouth  have 
long  since  disappeared.  We  warrant  that  more  people  are  infected 
than  cured  by  their  efforts. 

To  the  left  is  a  shrine,  covered  in  front  by  a  lattice,  to  the  bars  of 
which  are  tied  thousands  of  slips  of  paper  containing  written  prayers. 
Flanking  the  coffer  on  either  side  arc  old  men  who  sell  charms,  printed 
prayers,  beads,  prayer-books,  and  ecclesiastical  wares  of  all  sorts.  Vo- 
tive tablets  are  hung  on  the  walls  and  huge  round  pillars.  Here  is 
one,  on  which  is  the  character,  cut  from  paper,  for  "  man  "  and  "  wom- 
an," joined  by  a  padlock,  from  a  pair  of  lovers,  who  hope  and  pray 
that  the  course  of  true  love  may  run  smooth,  and  finally  flow  like  z 
river.  Here  is  one  from  a  merchant  who  promises  a  gift  to  the  tem- 
ple if  his  venture  succeeds.  Scores  are  memorials  of  gratitude % to 
Kuanon  for  hearing  prayer  and  restoring  the  suppliant  to  health.  The 
subject  of  one  picture  is  the  boiler  explosion  on  the  steamboat  City  of 
Yedo,  which  took  place  in  front  of  the  foreign  hotel  in  Tsukiji,  Au- 
gust 12th,  1870,  in  which  one  hundred  lives  were  lost.  Only  a  few 
days  ago,  in  Yokohama,  I  saw  the  infant  son  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Conies,  my  fellow-country  people,  who,  with  a  little  English  girl,  were 
the  only  foreigners  killed.  The  devotee  was  saved  by  the  great  mercy 
of  Kuanon,  and  hangs  up  the  tablet,  as  a  witness  of  his  gratitude,  and 
Kuanon's  surpassing  favor.  Many  are  from  sailors  who  have  survived 
a  storm.  On  the  wire  screen  hang  scores  of  men's  greasy  top-knots, 
and  a  few  braids  of  women's  hair,  cut  off  on  account  of  vows,  and  of- 
fered to  the  honor  of  Kuanon.  Perhaps  the  deity  sees  the  heart  that 
made  the  offering,  and  not  the  rancid  and  mildewed  grease.  Above 


384  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPISK 

are  splendid  carvings  and  paintings  of  angels.  The  Buddhist  angels 
are  always  feminine.  Among  the  crowd  of  religious  emblems,  there 
stares  at  you  a  framed  picture  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  China  as 
an  advertisement,  and  near  the  door  of  exit,  at  the  left,  stands  an  im- 
mense mirror  in  a  dazzling  gilt  frame.  It  is  one  of  the  sensational 
attractions  to  the  vulgar,  and  helps  to  make  up  the  catchpenny  collec- 
tion of  miscellanies  in  this  rich  temple,  whose  real  estate  covers  many 
acres  of  valuable  ground. 

Beyond  the  great  space  devoted  to  the  public  are  the  various  altar? 
and  gilt  images  of  the  deities,  sages,  and  saints  of  the  Buddhist  pan- 
theon and  calendar.  Candles  burn,  incense  floats,  and  the  sacred  books 
repose  here.  The  privileged  faithful  can,  for  a  fee  to  the  fat  priests 
who  sit  behind  their  account-books,  come  within  the  iron  wire  screen, 
and,  kneeling  on  the  clean  matting  in  front  of  the  great  altar,  may 
pray,  or  read  or  chant  sacred  books,  canonical  or  liturgical ;  or,  having 
a  vow  to  a  particular  deity,  or  wishing  to  invoke  the  intercession  of  a 
special  saint,  may  enter,  to  kneel  remote  from  the  crowd. 

It  seems  curious,  even  in  Japan,  to  see  men  dressed  in  foreign 
clothes,  praying  before  the  gilded  and  hideous  idols,  bowing  down 
to  foxes  and  demons,  and  going  through  all  the  forms  of  paganism. 
Clothes  do  not  make  a  Christian,  and  yet  to  our  narrow  vision  there 
seems  no  agreement  between  a  high  hat  and  a  Buddhist  temple,  no 
concord  between  a  black-cloth  coat  and  an  idol  in  ancient  robes. 

We  leave  the  temple  and  descend  the  steps,  glad  to  get  out  into 
the  only  true  God's  fresh  air.  From  the  unnature  of  superstition  to 
the  purity  of  nature,  from  the  pent-up  closeness  of  the  priests'  temple 
into  the  boundless  freedom  of  God's  glorious  creation,  how  welcome 
the  change !  It  stirs  the  pulses  of  the  divine  life  within  us  to  behold 
how  priestcraft  and  sanctified  avarice  and  blind  superstition  of  ages 
have  united,  and  then  to  remember  how  One  said,  "Have  faith  in 
God." 

To  the  left  of  the  temple  are  gardens  famed  for  their  displays  of 
flowers  in  season — the  plum-blossoms  in  February,  cherry  blooms  in 
April,  the  lotus  in  July,  azaleas  in  summer,  chrysanthemums  in  Octo- 
ber, camellias  in  December,  and  evergreens  always.  Here  are  dwarfed 
trees  in  every  shape.  Fuji  appears  over  and  over  again  in  miniature. 
Tortoises,  cats,  male  foreigners  with  hats,  and  females  in  crinoline, 
houses,  wagons,  and  what  not,  appear  in  living  forms  of  green.  Tiny 
trees,  an  inch  or  two  high,  balmy  pines,  oaks  and  bamboo,  cacti, 
striped  -  grass,  rare  plants  of  all  varieties  known  in  Japan,  are  here. 


S1QIITS  AND  SOUNDS  IN  A  PAGAN  TEMPLE.  387 

An  open  chrysanthemum,  the  crest  of  the  emperor,  is  emblazoned  on 
all  the  barracks  of  the  soldiers,  on  their  caps,  buttons,  and  banners, 
and  on  all  buildings  devoted  to  governmental  purposes. 

In  the  cultivation  of  these  flowers  the  native  gardeners  excel.  In 
their  limited  specialties,  the  Japanese  florists  distance  those  of  any 
other  country.  The  borders  of  the  Asakusa  gardens  are  made  of 
clipped  tea-plants.  Dwarfing,  unnatural  local  enlargement,  variegation 
of  leaf  and  petal,  the  encouragement  of  freaks  of  nature  by  careful 
artificial  selection — these  are  the  specialties  of  the  natives  of  Nippon, 
which  have  been  perfected  by  the  hereditary  patience,  tact,  and  labor 
of  a  thousand  years.  The  guild  of  florists  in  Tokio  is  large  and 
wealthy.  As  the  florist  father,  so  is  the  son.  Some  of  the  streets  of 
the  city  are  noted  for  their  floral  displays  and  fairs.  These  are  often 
given  at  night,  the  street  being  lighted  by  candles,  as  in  the  picture. 

The  temple  and  the  gardens  are  not  the  only  sights  at  Asakusa. 
The  antiquary  may  revel  in  deciphering  the  scores  of  inscriptions  in 
Sanskrit,  Japanese,  and  Chinese.  Most  of  these  are  commemorative 
of  religious  events;  some  are  prayers,  some  are  quotations  from  ca- 
nonical books,  some  are  sacred  hymns.  The  stones  are  of  granite, 
of  slate,  and  of  gray-stone.  Bronze  and  stone  images  of  Buddha  are 
numerous ;  some  with  aureole,  and  finger  lifted ;  some  with  hands  or 
legs  crossed,  and  thumbs  joined  meditatively.  All  wear  the  serene 
countenance  of  the  sage  in  Nirvana.  Around  the  base  of  nearly  all 
are  heaps  of  pebbles,  placed  there  as  evidence  of  prayers  offered.  In 
one  shrine  little  earthen  pots  of  salt  are  placed  as  offerings.  A  "  pray- 
ing machine  " — a  stone  wheel  in  a  stone  post — stands  near.  In  one 
octagon  temple  are  ranged  the  stone  effigies  of  the  five  hundred  origi- 
nal disciples  of  Buddha.  Again  we  light  on  a  crowd  of  stone  idols, 
on  which  are  pasted  bits  of  paper,  containing  a  picture  or  a  prayer. 
Some  of  them  are  as  full  of  labels  as  an  apothecary's  shop.  Many 
have  smoking  incense-sticks  before  them,  stuck  in  a  bed  of  ashes  accu- 
mulated from  former  offerings.  In  one  building  to  the  south-east  of 
the  main  temple  is  a  curious  collection  of  idols,  which  attract  attention 
from  the  fact  of  their  being  clean. 

Three  idols,  representing  assistant  torturers  to  Ema,  the  Lord  of 
Hell,  painted  in  all  colors  and  gilded  as  gorgeously  as  cheap  ginger- 
bread, stand  in  theatrical  attitudes.  One  wields  a  sword,  one  a  pen, 
and  one  a  priest's  staff.  All  have  their  heads  in  an  aureole  of  red 
flames.  The  feet  of  the  first,  a  green  monster  like  a  deified  caterpillar, 
rests  his  foot  on  an  imp  of  the  same  color,  having  two  clawed  toes  on 


388  THE  MIKADO'!*  EMPIRE. 

his  feet,  and  two  fangs  in  his  mouth.  Under  the  second  writhes  a 
flesh-colored  devil,  holding  up  an  ink-stone,  ready  for  the  use  of  the 
idol,  who  may  be  a  Japanese  Saturday  Reviewer.  The  third,  with  an 
indigo  face,  having  a  priest's  staff,  treads  on  a  sky-blue  devil.  In  the 
middle  of  the  stone-floored  room  is  a  revolving  shrine,  having  many 
closed  doors,  and  containing  sacred  treasures  of  some  sort.  All  over 
the  crowded  grounds  are  tea-booths,  with  the  usual  charcoal  fire,  copper 
boiler,  kettle,  cup-rack,  sweetmeats,  and  smiling,  powdered,  well-dress- 
ed damsel,  who  invites  the  passer-by  to  rest,  drink  a  cup  of  tea,  and 
part  with  a  trifle  as  gift. 

At  the  north  end  are  ranged  the  archery  galleries,  also  presided  over 
by  pretty  black-eyed  Dianas,  in  paint,  powder,  and  shining  coiffure. 
They  bring  you  tea,  smile,  talk  nonsense,  and  giggle;  smoke  their 
long  pipes  with  tiny  bowls  full  of  mild,  fine-cut  tobacco ;  puff  out 
the  long  white  whiffs  from  their  flat-bridged  noses ;  wipe  the  brass 
mouth-piece,  and  offer  it  to  you ;  and  then  ask  you  leading  and  very 
personal  questions  without  blushing.  The  bows  are  of  slender  bam- 
boo strips,  two  feet  long,  with  rests  for  the  shaft.  The  arrows  are  of 
cherry-wood,  six  inches  long,  bone-tipped,  and  feathered  red,  blue,  or 
white.  Two  or  three  targets  hang  in  front  of  a  square  drum,  flanked 
by  red  cushions.  A  sharp  click  on  the  hard  target,  the  boom  of  the 
drum,  or  the  deadened  sound  of  the  struck  cushion,  tell  the  grades  of 
success.  Full-grown,  able-bodied  men  are  the  chief  patrons  of  these 
places  of  pleasure,  and  many  can  find  amusement  for  hours  at  such 
play. 

Let  no  one  visit  Asakusa  without  seeing  the  so-called  "  wax-works," 
though  there  is  very  little  wax  in  the  show.  In  one  of  the  buildings, 
to  the  rear  and  left  of  the  main  temple,  are  thirty-five  tableaux,  in  life- 
size  figures,  of  the  miracles  wrought  by  Kuanon,  or  wondrous  events 
in  the  lives  of  her  pious  devotees.  There  are  thirty-three  great  tem- 
ples in  Japan,  dedicated  to  Kuanon,  the  Goddess  of  Mercy.  Pious  pil- 
grims often  make  the  pilgrimage,  visiting  each  of  these  shrines.  The 
tableaux  at  Asakusa  are  thought  by  many  foreign  critics  to  excel  in 
expression  the  famous  collection  of  Madame  Tussaud  in  London,  an 
opinion  which  the  writer  shares.  They  are  all  the  handiwork  of  one 
artist,  who  visited  the  most  celebrated  shrines  of  Kuanon,  and,  struck 
with  the  marvelous  power  and  mercy  of  the  god,  wished  to  show  to 
the  youth  of  his  country  the  benefit  of  trusting  in  and  praying  to 
him  or  her.  The  figure  of  Kuanon  is,  in  some  representations,  like 
that  of  a  gentle  and  lovely  lady.  In  the  outside  tableau,  the  image  of 


SIGHTS  AND  SOUNDS  IN  A  PAGAN  TEMPLE.  389 

Kuanon  is  drawn  out  in  public  to  stay  a  plague,  which  is  accomplish- 
ed by  the  mercy  and  favor  of  the  god.  In  the  first  tableau  inside,  a 
learned  lady  prays  to  Kuanon,  and  is  heard.  The  second  tableau  rep- 
resents Kuanon  appearing  in  the  form  of  a  beautiful  woman  to  reward 
a  diligent  priest ;  the  third,  a  young  girl  suddenly  restored  to  health 
by  the  favor  of  Kuanon ;  the  fourth,  Kuanon  appearing  in  the  form 
of  a  little  peasant  girl  to  a  noble  of  the  mikado's  court ;  the  fifth,  a 
hungry  robber  desecrating  the  temple ;  and  a  certain  suggestive  paint- 
ing to  the  left,  in  which  demons  and  a  red-hot  cart,  with  wheels  and 
axles  of  fire,  are  pictured  above  the  robber,  tells  what  is  to  become  of 
him.  In  the  sixth,  a  noble  of  the  mikado's  court  overcomes  and  binds 
the  thunder-god,  or  demon,  through  the  power  of  Kuanon.  In  the 
seventh,  a  woman  is  saved  from  shipwreck  because  she  sung  a  hymn  to 
Kuanon  during  the  tempest.  In  the  eighth,  a  devout  priest,  fearing 
yet  bold,  goes  to  talk  to  Ema,  the  Lord  of  Hell.  The  ninth  repre- 
sents an  old  man,  one  of  the  Hojo  family,  writing  a  prayer -poem. 
The  tenth  represents  a  pious  damsel,  who  worshiped  Kuanon,  never 
killed  any  animals,  and  saved  the  life  of  a  crab  which  a  man  was  go- 
ing to  kill :  afterward,  a  snake,  transforming  itself  into  human  shape, 
came  to  seize  her,  but  a  multitude  of  grateful  crabs  appeared  and  res- 
cued her,  biting  the  reptile  to  death :  this  was  by  the  order  of  Kua- 
non. In  the  eleventh,  a  devout  worshiper,  by  prayer,  overcomes  and 
kills  a  huge  serpent  that  troubled  the  neighborhood.  In  the  twelfth, 
a  diligent  copyist  of  the  sacred  books  beguiles  his  time  by  rewarding 
little  children  with  cakes  for  bringing  him  pebbles,  for  every  one  of 
which  he  transcribes  a  character.  The  baby  on  the  back  of  the  little 
girl  is  asleep ;  and  the  imitation  of  baby-life  is  wonderful,  and  in  re- 
spect to  one  or  two  details  more  truthful  than  elegant.  In  the  thir- 
teenth, Kuanon,  having  appeared  on  earth  in  female  form,  goes  to 
heaven,  taking  the  picture  of  a  boy,  who  afterward  grows  up  to  be  a 
celebrated  priest.  In  the  fourteenth,  a  pious  woman  falls  from  a  lad- 
der, but  is  unhurt.  In  the  fifteenth,  a  man  suffering  grievously  from 
headache  is  directed  to  the  spot  where  the  skull  which  belonged  to 
his  body  in  a  previous  state  of  existence  is  being  split  open  by  the 
root  of  a  tree  growing  through  the  eye-socket.  On  removing  it,' he  is 
relieved  of  his  headache.  In  the  nineteenth,  a  good  man  vanquishes  a 
robber.  In  the  twentieth,  the  babe  of  a  holy  farmer's  wife,  who  is  out 
at  work,  is  saved  from  a  wolf  by  miraculous  rays  defending  the  child. 
In  the  twenty-first,  Kuanon  appears  to  heal  a  sick  girl  with  a  wand 
and  drops  of  water.  In  the  twenty-second,  a  holy  man  buys  and  sets 


390  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

free  a  tortoise  about  to  be  killed  for  food.  Three  days  afterward  his 
child  falls  overboard,  and  is  apparently  lost,  but  after  a  while  returns 
safely  on  the  back  of  the  grateful  reptile.  In  the  twenty-fourth,  a  re- 
tainer of  a  noble  is  ordered  to  kill  his  master's  son  for  disobedience  to 
him.  The  servant,  unable,  through  love  of  his  master's  son,  to  do  it, 
kills  his  own  son  instead.  The  tableau  represents  him  mourning  ovei 
his  son's  gory  head.  His  master's  son,  in  remorse,  became  a  priest. 
In  the  twenty-fifth,  a  good  man  is  saved  from  robbers  by  his  dog.  In 
the  twenty-sixth,  a  man  who  had  his  cargo  of  rice  confiscated  for  his 
refusal  to  give  the  priest  his  share,  repented  of  his  obduracy,  and  re- 
ceived heavenly  evidence  of  his  pardon  in  a  new  cargo  of  rice  sent 
by  Kuanon.  In  the  twenty-seventh,  the  son  of  a  court  noble  breaks 
a  precious  ink-stone.  His  father,  in  a  fit  of  anger,  kills  him.  The 
horrified  attendant  becomes  a  priest.  In  the  twenty-eighth,  a  pious 
recluse  is  saved  from  starvation  by  a  miraculous  leg  of  venison.  In 
the  twenty-ninth,  a  mountain  demon  pursues  an  evil-doer.  In  the 
thirtieth,  a  pious  wood-cutter  hears  heavenly  music,  and  Kuanon  ap- 
pears to  him.  In  the  thirty-first,  a  worshiper  of  Kuanon  is  wounded 
by  robbers,  thrown  into  the  river,  and  is  accidentally  brought  up  in  a 
fisherman's  net.  Having  an  image  of  Kuanon  in  his  bosom,  he  is  re- 
suscitated, and  lives  to  bless  his  preserver.  In  the  thirty-third,  a  mer- 
maid appears  to  a  passer-by,  and  prays  him  to  erect  a  temple  to  Kua- 
non. This  having  been  done,  the  mermaid  is  reborn  into  a  higher 
state  of  existence.  In  the  thirty-fourth,  Kuanon  appears  to  a  traveler. 
The  last  is  a  moving  tableau,  representing  a  court  noble  and  lady. 

Extreme  kindness  to  animals  is  characteristic  of  the  Japanese.  It 
is  the  result  of  the  gentle  doctrines  of  Buddha.  Several  of  the  mira- 
cle-figures teach  the  law  of  kindness  to  brutes.  It  is  sometimes  car- 
ried into  a  sentimentalism  almost  maudlin.  My  jin-riki-sha  puller 
makes  a  detour,  out  of  his  way,  round  a  sleeping  dog  or  bantam,, 
when  the  lazy  animal  might  fairly  take  its  chances.  When  a  mani 
believes  that  the  soul  of  his  grandfather  may  be  transmigrating 
through  a  cur,  however  mangy,  or  a  chick,  however  skinny,  he  is  not 
going  to  cause  another  metempsychosis  by  murdering  the  brute,  if  he 
can  help  it.  Killing  a  wounded  horse  to  put  him  out  of  misery,  or  in 
useless  old  age,  is  never  practiced,  the  idea  being  too  cruel  to  be  en 
tertained. 


STUDIES  IN  THE  CAPITAL.  391 


V. 

STUDIES  IN  THE  CAPITAL. 

THE  foreigner  who  traces  upon  his  globe  or  map  the  outlines  of  the 
island  empire  of  Japan,  conceives  of  it  as  a  long,  narrow,  insular  strip 
of  land,  stretching  from  north  to  south.  Seeing  that  Yezo  is  in  such 
high,  and  Kiushiu  in  such  low  latitude,  he  thinks  of  Yedo  and  Naga- 
saki as  lying  at  the  two  ends  of  the  magnetic  needle.  To  the  native, 
they  lie  in  the  line  of  the  sun,  the  one  at  its  rising,  the  other  at  its  set- 
ting. The  reason  for  this  conception  of  the  native,  which  is  thus  in 
rectilinear  opposition  to  that  of  the  foreigner,  lies,  not  in  the  supposed 
fact  that  the  Japanese  do  every  thing  in  a  contrary  manner  from  our- 
selves, or  because  the  images  on  his  retina  are  not  reversed  as  on  ours, 
but  because  he  has  a  truer  knowledge  of  his  country's  topography  than 
the  alien.  The  latter  knows  of  Japan  only  as  a  strip  of  land  described 
in  his  dogmatic  text-books,  a  fraction  in  his  artificial  system ;  the  for- 
mer knows  it  as  he  actually  walks,  by  dwelling  on  its  soil  and  looking 
at"  the  sun,  the  lay  of  the  land,  and  the  pole  star.  To  him,  Tokio  lies 
in  the  east,  Choshiu  in  the  west,  Hakodate  in  the  north,  and  Satsuma 
in  the  south. 

The  native  conception  of  locality  in  the  mikado's  empire  is  the 
true  one.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  Yezo  and  a  portion  of 
Hondo  lie,  indeed,  inclosed  in  a  narrow  line  drawn  north  and  south. 
Japan  may  be  divided  into  inhabited  and  uninhabited  land,  and  Yezo 
must  fall  within  the  latter  division.  Hence,  only  that  part  above  the 
thirty-sixth  parallel  may  be  called  Northern  Japan.  From  Yedo  to 
Nagasaki  is  the  main  portion  of  the  empire,  in  point  of  historical  im- 
portance, wealth,  and  population.  Between  the  thirty-third  and  thir- 
ty-sixth, or  within  three  parallels  of  latitude,  on  a  belt  a  little  over  two 
hundred  miles  wide,  stretches  from  east  to  west,  for  six  hundred  miles, 
the  best  part  of  Japan. 

Within  this  belt  lies  more  than  a  majority  of  the  largest  cities,  best 
ports,  richest  mines,  densest  centres  of  population,  classic  localities, 
magnificent  temples,  holy  places,  tea -plantations,  silk  districts,  rice- 


392  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

fields,  and  manufactures.  Here,  also,  have  been  developed,  in  times 
past,  the  nation's  greatest  treasures — the  best  blood,  the  commanding 
minds,  and  the  men  that  have  ruled  Japan. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  shifting  of  the  scenes  in  the  drama  of 
Japanese  history.  In  the  most  ancient  times,  the  ablest  men  of  ac- 
tion and  intellect  were  produced  in  Yainato,  or  in  the  Kinai.  In  the 
Middle  Ages,  they  arose  in  the  Kuanto.  At  the  opening  of  modern 
history,  they  sprung  from  the  Tokaido  (Mino,  Owari,  Mikawa).  In 
the  latest  decades,  they  came  from  Kiushiu  and  the  south  (Choshiu, 
Satsuma,  Tosa,  and  Hizen). 

An  inspection  of  the  map  will  show  a  striking  configuration  of  the 
land,  on  the  southern  coast  of  Hondo,  adapting  and  ordaining  it  as 
the  site  for  the  great  bulk  of  the  nation's  intellect,  intelligence,  popu- 
lation, and  wealth.  From  Kadzusa  on  the  extreme  east,  to  Choshiu 
on  the  extreme  west,  are  found  in  succession  a  series  of  bays,  at  the 
head  of  each  of  which  stands  a  large  city.  On  the  first  is  the  city  of 
Tokio  (population,  925,000) ;  on  the  second,  Odawara  (20,000) ;  on 
the  third,  Hamamatsu  (50,000) ;  on  the  fourth,  Nagoya  (400,000) ; 
on  the  fifth,  Ozaka  (600,000) ;  on  the  sixth,  Hiogo  (60,000) ;  on  the 
seventh,  Hiroshima  (100,000) ;  on  the  eighth,  Shimonoseki  (10,000). 
These  lie  east  and  west  of  each  other.  These  are  and  were  all  flour- 
ishing cities,  but  until  lyeyasu's  time  Yedo  was  but  a  village. 

It  was  a  bold  stroke  of  policy  to  make  the  obscure  place  the  seat 
of  government.  It  seemed  very  much  to  the  people  of  that  day  artd 
country  as  it  would  to  us  were  our  capital  removed  from  Washington 
to  Duluth. 

The  general  shape  of  Tokio  is  that  of  an  egg,  with  the  point  to  the 
south,  the  butt  to  the  north.  The  yolk  of  this  egg  is  the  castle,  or 
O  Shiro,  a  work  of  vast  proportions. 

The  traveler  in  our  land  of  steam,  in  which  men  are  too  few  and 
too  valuable  to  be  machines,  sees  heavy  work  done  by  the  derrick  and 
the  engine,  and  can  reckon  to  a  fraction  the  equivalent  for  human 
muscle  stored  up  in  a  pound  of  coal.  Before  the  labor  of  the  medi;e- 
val  masons,  he  wonders  how  the  pygmies  of  those  days  could  build 
such  stupendous  works  as  astonish  the  tourist  in  Egypt,  India,  As- 
syria, China,  and  Japan,  or  raise  colossal  stones,  or  transport  them  in 
positions  hundreds  of  miles  from  their  home  in  the  quarry. 

Of  architectural  works  in  Japan,  the  torii,  the  yashiki,  and  the  shiro, 
or  castle,  may  be  said  to  be  original  products.  The  pagoda  is  from 
China.  Though  far  beyond  the  structures  of  Egypt  or  India  in  aes- 


STUDIES  IN  THE  CAPITAL.  393 

thetic  merit,  the  Japanese  castles  challenge  wonder  at  their  vast  extent, 
and  the  immense  size  of  the  stones  in  their  walls.  In  the  castle  of 
Ozaka,  built  by  Hideyoshi,  some  of  the  stones  are  forty  feet  long,  ten 
feet  high,  and  several  feet  thick.  In  the  castle  of  Tokio,  in  the  cita- 

o      '  *  ' 

del  or  highest  point,  the  walls  have  many  stones  sixteen  feet  long,  six 
wide,  and  three  thick.  These  were  brought  from  near  Iliogo,  over 
two  hundred  miles  distant. 

In  Asiatic  countries  labor  is  cheap  and  abundant.  What  the  Amer- 
ican accomplishes  by  an  engine  and  a  ton  of  coal,  the  exponent  of  so 
many  foot-pounds,  or  horse-power,  the  Asiatic  accomplishes  by  thou- 
sands of  human  arms.  A  signal  instance  of  the  quick  triumph  of 
muscle  came  under  my  own  observation  while  in  Tokio. 

A  foreigner  in  the  employ  of  the  Japanese  Government  was  con- 
sulted in  relation  to  the  choice  of  a  site  for  a  model  farm,  and  was 
shown  several  eligible  places,  one  of  which  was  included  within  the 
grounds  of  an  ex-daimio,  which  had  been  left  for  years  to  the  rank 
overgrowth,  which,  together  with  the  larger  trees  and  bushes,  made  the 
soil  so  rooty,  and  the  whole  place  so  unpromising  to  the  foreigner, 
that  he  declared  the  site  was  utterly  unfit ;  that  several  years  would  be 
required  to  bring  it  into  any  thing  like  proper  condition  for  tillage. 
He  then  drove  off  to  examine  another  proposed  site.  But  American 
ways  of  thinking  were,  in  this  case,  at  fault. 

The  Japanese  officer  in  charge  immediately  and  quietly  hired  eight 
hundred  laborers  to  clear  and  smooth  the  land.  They  worked  in  re- 
lays, night  and  day.  In  one  week's  time  he  showed  the  American  "  a 
new  site,"  with  which  he  was  delighted.  It  was  chosen  for  the  model 
farm.  It  was  the  same  site  he  had  first  glanced  at.  The  potential 
energy  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  land,  worthless  as  real  estate,  being  the 
property  of  the  official,  could  be  sold  to  the  Government  for  a  model 
farm  at  the  highest  of  fancy  prices,  paid  out  of  the  national  treasury. 
The  actual  energy  of  eight  hundred  pairs  of  arms  developed  a  wilder- 
ness into  leveled  farm-fields  within  a  week. 

The  yashiki  is  a  product  of  architecture  distinctively  Japanese. 
Its  meaning  is  "  spread-out  house."  It  is  such  a  homogeneous  struct- 
ure that  it  strikes  the  eye  as  having  been  cut  out  of  a  solid  block.  It 
is  usually  in  the  form  of  a  hollow  square,  inclosing  from  ten  thou- 
sand to  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  square  feet  of  ground.  The 
four  sides  of  the  square  within  are  made  up  of  four  rows,  or  four  un- 
broken lines  of  houses.  In  the  centre  are  the  mansions  of  the  daimio 
and  his  ministers.  The  lesser  retainers  occupy  the  long  houses  which 


394  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

form  the  sides  of  the  square.  The  space  is  filled  up  within  with  gar- 
dens, both  for  use  and  pleasure,  recreation-grounds,  target  walks,  and 
kura,  or  fire-proof  warehouses.  Mito's  grounds  were  of  marvelous 
beauty.  The  yashiki,  on  the  street  front,  presents  the  appearance  of  a 
continuous  house  on  stone  foundations,  with  rows  of  wooden  barred 
or  grated  windows. 

The  cut  represents  an  "  evening  view  "  of  Kasumiya  Street,  a  slope 
between  the  yashiki  of  the  Daimio  of  Ogaki,  in  Mino,  on  the  left,  and 
that  of  Hiroshima,  in  Aki,  on  the  right;  and  of  Sakurada  Avenue. 
Each  of  these  proud  lords,  in  erecting  his  mansion,  found  that  his  ri- 
val was  building  as  high  and  fine  a  stone  foundation  as  he  was.  Aki 
was  determined  to  get  higher  than  Ogaki,  lest  a  fudaVs  windows 
should  look  down  on  a  kokushiu's  lattice ;  while  Ogaki  was  bound  to 
"  get  even  "  with  Aki.  The  rival  masonry  might  have  grown  higher, 
had  not  the  shogun  ordered  them  to  desist. 

All  around  the  yashikis  ran  a  ditch,  or  moat,  from  four  to  twelve 
feet  wide,  usually  of  running  water.  Most  of  the  walls  were  faced 
with  square  tiles,  fastened  diagonally,  presenting  the  appearance  of 
thousands  of  black  lozenges,  with  rounded  ridges  of  white  plaster 
about  three  inches  high.  To  break  the  monotony  of  the  street  front, 
there  was  one  great  roofed  gate,  for  the  lord  and  master,  flanked  with 
porters'  lodges,  and  a  smaller  one,  or  postern,  on  another  side,  for  serv- 
ants and  retainers.  It  was  a  very  important  point  of  etiquette  as  to 
who  should  or  should  not  enter  through  the  main  gate.  On  no  ac- 
count would  any  one,  unless  of  very  high  rank,  be  admitted  in  a  ve- 
hicle of  any  sort.  At  a  certain  gate,  called  Gejo,  leading  to  the  hon 
maru,  or  citadel  of  the  Yedo  castle,  all  daimios  were  obliged  to  dis- 
mount from  their  palanquins  and  walk.  The  abbot  of  the  temple  of 
Zozoji,  at  Shiba,  as  a  mark  of  high  rank,  could  enter  in  a  palanquin. 
Such  a  privilege  was  equal  to  a  patent  of  nobility. 

The  castle-moats,  on  varying  levels,  to  make  a  current  and  prevent 
stagnation,  were  supplied  with  water  brought  in  stone-lined  aqueducts 
from  the  Tonegawa,  nine  miles  distant.  In  the  moats  it  varied  from 
four  to  twelve  feet  in  depth.  The  scarp  and  counter-scarp  were  faced 
with  stone,  and  where  the  castle  was  on  high  ground  the  sloping  em- 
bankments were  sodded,  the  water  flowing  scores  of  feet  below.  In 
the  shallow  parts,  lotus-flowers  grew  luxuriantly  in  summer,  and  in 
winter  thousands  of  water-fowl,  ducks,  geese,  storks,  and  herons  made 
it  their  secure  home,  the  people  never  harming  them — a  statement  al- 
most incredible  to  a  foreign  sportsman.  A  number  of  the  shogun's 


STUDIES  IN  THE  CAPITAL.  397 

swans  added  grace  and  beauty  to  the  peaceful  scene.  It  was  forbid- 
den to  fire  a  gun  within  five  ri  of  the  castle.  I  wondered  how  for- 
eign sportsmen  could  resist  the  temptation. 

Let  the  reader  imagine  a  space  of  several  miles  square  covered  with 
yashikis.  To  walk  through  the  streets  inside  the  castle  enceinte  was 
a  monotonous  and  gloomy  task.  There  was  nothing  to  break  the  dull 
uniformity  of  black  or  white  tiles  and  windows,  except  here  and  there 
a  swordcd  sanurai  or  a  procession.  Occasional  variety  was  obtained 
in  a  very  large  yashiki  by  erecting  a  wall  around  the  entire  inclosure, 
and  building  the  houses  inside.  This  made  the  monotony  worse, 
since  the  eye  had  no  relief  in  looking  at  windows,  in  which,  perchance, 
might  be  a  pot  of  flowers,  or  peeping  eyes.  It  scarcely  added  to  the 
cheerfulness  to  meet  no  common  folk,  but  only  proud  and  pompous 
men  with  two  swords,  the  mark  of  the  Japanese  gentleman  of  feudal 
days. 

The  winter  head-dress  of  the  Japanese  of  both  sexes  is  a  black 
cloth  cap,  fitting  close  to  the  skull,  with  long  flaps,  which  were  tied 
around  over  the  neck,  mouth,  and  nose,  exposing  only  the  eyes.  The 
wearing  of  this  cap  made  a  most  remarkable  difference,  according  to 
sex.  The  male  looked  fiendishly  malignant,  like  a  Spanish  brigand, 
the  effect  of  two  scowling  eyes  being  increased  by  the  two  swords  at 
his  belt.  The  phrase  "  he  looked  daggers  at  me  "  had  a  new  signif- 
icance. With  the  women,  however,  the  effect  was  the  reverse.  A 
plump,  well-wrapped  form  lost  no  comeliness ;  and  when  one  saw  two 
sparkling  eyes  and  a  suggestion  of  rosy  cheeks,  the  imagination  was 
willing  to  body  forth  the  full  oval  of  the  Japanese  beauty. 

A  dinner  given  in  my  honor  by  the  ex-prince  of  Echizen,  in  his  own 
yashiki,  enabled  me  to  see  in  detail  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  this 
style  of  mansion.  Like  all  the  large  clans  and  kokushiu  daimios, 
Echizen  had  three  yashikis — the  Superior,  Middle,  and  Inferior.  In 
the  second  lived  the  ordinary  clansmen,  while  to  the  third  the  serv- 
ants and  lower  grade  of  samurai  are  assigned.  Some  of  these  yashi- 
kis covered  many  acres  of  ground ;  and  the  mansions  of  the  Go  Sanke 
families  and  the  great  clans  of  Satsuma,  Kaga,  Choshiu,  and  Chikuzen 
are  known  at  once  upon  the  map  by  their  immense  size  and  com- 
manding positions.  Within  their  grounds  are  groves,  shrines,  culti- 
vated gardens,  fish-ponds,  hillocks,  and  artificial  landscapes  of  unique 
and  surpassing  beauty.  The  lord  of  the  mansion  dwelt  in  a  central 
building,  approached  from  the  great  gate  by  a  wide  stone  path  and 
grand  portico  of  keyaki-wood.  Long,  wide  corridors,  laid  with  soft 


398  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

mats,  led  to  the  master's  chamber.  All  the  wood-work,  except  certain 
portions,  stood  in  virgin  grain  like  watered  silk,  except  where  relieved 
here  and  there  by  a  hard  gleam  of  black  lacquer-like  enamel.  The 
walls,  gorgeously  papered  with  gold,  silver,  or  fanciful  and  colored 
designs,  characteristic  of  Japanese  art — among  which  the  pine,  plum, 
and  cherry  tree,  the  bamboo,  lily,  the  stork,  tortoise,  and  lion,  or  fans, 
were  the  favorites.  The  sliding  doors,  or  partitions,  of  which  three 
sides  of  a  Japanese  room  is  composed,  were  decorated  with  paintings. 
Some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  Japanese  art  I  ever  saw  were  in  the 
yashikis  of  Tokio. 

The  plan  of  the  city  of  Yedo,  conceived  by  lyeyasu,  was  simply 
that  of  a  great  camp.  This  one  idea  explains  its  centre,  divisions,  and 
relations.  In  the  heart  of  this  vast  encampment  was  the  general's 
head-quarters — a  well-nigh  impregnable  castle.  On  the  most  eligible 
and  commanding  sites  were  the  tents  of  his  chief  satraps.  These 
tents  were  yashikis.  The  architectural  prototype  of  a  yashiki  is  a 
Japanese  tent.  In  time  of  war,  the  general's  head-quarters  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  roofless  curtain  of  wide  breadths  of  canvas  stretched 
perpendicularly  on  posts,  presenting  a  square  front  like  a  wall  outside, 
and  a  roomy  area  within,  having  in  its  centre  the  general's  tent.  In 
place  of  this  tent  put  a  house ;  instead  of  the  canvas  stretch  continu- 
ous long  houses,  forming  a  hollow  square  inclosing  the  mansion,  and 
you  have  the  yashiki.  Shallow  observers — foreigners,  of  course — 
on  first  seeing  these  stretched  canvas  screens,  supposed  they  were 
"forts,"  and  the  crests  (mon)  of  the  general,  "port -holes"  for  can- 
non.! Yedo,  the  camp  city  of  the  East,  was  full  of  these  tents,  am- 
plified and  made  permanent  in  wood  and  stone. 

These  edifices  made  the  glory  of  old  Yedo,  but  Tokio  sees  fewer 
year  by  year  and  fire  by  fire.  They  were  the  growth  of  the  necessi- 
ties of  feudalism.  The  new  age  of  Japan  docs  not  need  them,  and 
the  next  decade,  that  shall  see  thousands  swept  away,  will  see  none 
rebuilt ;  and  the  traveler  will  look  upon  a  yashiki  as  one  of  the  many 
curiosities  of  Old  Japan.  Yedo  was  the  city  of  the  Tokugawas,  and 
the  camp  of  clans.  Its  architectural  products  sprung  from  the  soil  of 
feudalism.  Tokio  is  the  national  capital,  the  city  of  the  mikado,  and 
its  edifices  are  at  once  the  exponents  of  modern  necessities  and  en- 
lightened nationality. 


AMONG  THE  MEN  OF  NEW  JAPAN.  399 


VI. 

AMONG  THE  MEN  OF  NEW  JAPAN. 

I  SPENT  from  January  3d  to  February  16th,  1871,  in  the  new  capi- 
tal of  Japan,  visiting  the  famous  places  in  the  city  and  suburbs,  seeing 
the  wonderful  sights,  and  endeavoring  by  study  and  questioning  to 
reduce  to  order  the  myriad  impressions  that  were  made  upon  all  my 
senses  like  a  mimic  cannonade.  During  two  weeks  I  taught  as  a  vol- 
unteer in  the  Imperial  College.  At  the  house  of  the  superintendent  I 
met  many  of  the  officials  in  the  educational  and  other  departments, 
learning  their  ideas  and  methods  of  thinking  and  seeing.  Among  my 
novel  employments  was,  upon  one  occasion,  the  searching  of  Wheaton's 
and  other  works  on  international  law  for  rules  and  precedents  cover- 
ing an  imminent  case  of  hostilities  in  Yokohama  harbor.  The  captain 
of  a  French  man-of-war,  resurrecting  one  of  the  exploded  regulations 
of  the  republic  of  1795,  was  threatening  to  seize  a  German  merchant 
ship,  which  had  been  sold  to  the  Japanese,  and  the  officials  of  the 
Foreign  Office  had  come  to  their  long-trusted  American  friend  for  ad- 
vice and  the  law's  precedents.  It  came  to  nothing,  however.  No  seiz- 
ure was  made,  nor  hostile  gun  fired.  The  furore  of  traveling  abroad  was 
then  at  fever-heat,  and  thousands  of  young  men  hoped  to  be  sent  to 
study  abroad,  at  government  expense,  where  tens  only  could  be  chosen. 
I  made  a  call  on  Terashima  Munenori,  the  Vice-minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  then  in  Tsukiji :  presenting  letters  from  Mr.  Hatakeyama  Yo- 
shinari,  I  was  received  very  kindly.  Iwakura  (to  whom  I  bore  letters 
from  his  son)  and  Mr.  Okubo  at  that  time  were  on  an  important 
political  mission  to  Satsuma,  Choshiu,  and  Tosa,  sent  thither  by  the 
mikado.  The  ex-Prince  of  Echizen  gave  an  entertainment  in  my  hon- 
or at  his  mansion.  The  daimios  of  Uwajima  and  Akadzuki,  and  sev- 
eral of  their  Jcaros  (ministers),  were  present  at  the  dinner.  He  present 
ed  me  with  his  photograph,  with  some  verses,  of  the  making  of  which 
he  Was  very  fond.  Mr.  Arinori  Mori,  a  young  samurai  of  the  Satsuma 
clan,  and  a  great  friend  of  Iwakura,  called  to  see  me,  and  received  let- 
ters of  introduction  to  my  friends  in  America.  He  was  then  in  na- 


400  THE  MIKADOES  EMPIRE. 

tive  dress,  wearing  the  traditional  two  swords,  the  abolition  of  which 
he  had  in  vain  advocated  some  months  before.  He  had  just  received 
his  appointment  as  charge  d'affaires  of  Japan  in  the  United  States. 
Messrs.  Mori,  and  Sameshima — since  charge  d'affaires  at  Paris,  now 
(1876)  Vice-minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  Tokio — stood  so  high  in  the 
confidence  of  Iwakura  that  they  were  dubbed,  in  the  political  slang 
of  the  capital,  "  the  legs  of  Iwakura."  Mr.  Katsu  Awa,  though  absent 
in  Shidzuoka,  sent  me  a  very  pleasant  letter  of  welcome  to  Japan.  I 
enjoyed  a  delightful  call  on  Mr.  Kanda,  the  ex-President  or  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Assembly,  in  which  Mr.  Mori  had  argued  reforms, 
the  second  deliberative  body  that  had  been  called  into  existence,  ac- 
cording to  the  oath  of  the  mikado  in  Kioto,  in  1868,  that  representa- 
tive institutions  should  be  formed.  I  found  Mr.  Kanda  a  student  of 
English  and  American  literature,  and  an  earnest  thinker.  His  son,  a 
bright  lad,  was  to  accompany  Mr.  Mori  to  America.  I  also  met  a  num- 
ber of  the  prominent  and  rising  men  of  the  country,  especially  those 
who  had  been  active  in  the  late  revolution.  The  mikado  was  begin- 
ning to  ride  out  in  public ;  and  I  saw  at  various  times  a  number  of  the 
kuge,  both  ladies  and  gentlemen,  in  their  ancient,  gorgeous  costumes, 
with  their  retainers  and  insignia.  I  witnessed,  also,  a  grand  review  of 
the  imperial  army,  a  wrestling -match,  exhibitions  of  acrobatics  and 
jugglery,  theatrical  performances,  and  many  things  in  the  political, 
social,  and  military  world  that  will  never  again  be  seen  in  Japan.  I 
visil.ed  the  first  hospital  opened  in  Tokio,  by  Matsumoto,  and  the  ex- 
cellent school  of  Fukuzawa,  rival  of  the  Imperial  College.  None  of 
the  large  modern  buildings  in  European  style,  which  now  adorn  the 
city,  were  then  built.  The  city  was  then  more  Yedo  than  Tokio. 

I  repeatedly  visited  Oji,  so  often  described  by  Oliphant  and  others ; 
Meguro,  near  which  are  the  graves  of  the  lovers,  "  Gompachi  and 
Kcmurasaki;"  Takanawa,  the  Mecca  of  Japanese  loyalty,  where  are 
the  tombs  and  statues  of  the  forty- seven  ronins,  and  of  their  lord, 
whom  they  died  to  avenge ;  Kame  Ido,  the  memorial  of  the  deified 
martyr,  Sugawara  Michizane  ;  Shiba,  Uyeno,  Mukojima,  and  the  places 
so  well  known  to  residents  and  tourists,  the  sight  of  which  but  added 
zest  to  an  appetite  for  seeing  all  that  is  dear  to  a  Japanese,  which  a 
residence  of  years  failed  to  cloy.  I  was  several  times  at  Zempukuji 
(Temple  of  Peace  and  Happiness),  one  of  the  oldest  shrines  of  the 
Shin  sect  of  Buddhists,  founded  by  Shinran  himself,  who  with  his 
own  hands  planted  the  wonderful  old  jinko-tree,  which  still  flourishes. 
Within  the  temple  grounds  were  the  buildings  of  the  legation  of  the 


AMONG   THE  MEN  OF  NEW  JAPAN.  401 

United  States  of  America.  Here  had  dwelt  successively  Ministers 
Townsend  Harris,  Robert  H.  Pruyn,  and  General  Van  Valkenbergh. 
United  States  Vice-consul  C.  O.  Shepherd  was  then  occupying  the 
premises.  I  noticed  a  somewhat  dusty  portrait  of  Franklin  Pierce 
hung  on  the  walls  of  one  of  the  inner  empty  rooms.  The  one  bright 
oasis  spot  during  his  barren  administration  was  the  success  of  Perry's 
mission,  and  the  opening  of  Japan  to  the  world.  The  glory  of  the 
great  United  States  had  been  here  maintained,  by  its  Government 
never  paying  any  rent  for  its  tenantry  of  buildings,  and  by  extorting 
"indemnities"  for  every  accidental  fire,  for  every  provoked  injury, 
and  even  for  every  man  killed  in  the  open  and  active  hostilities  of 
war,  and  in  joining  the  governments  of  Europe  in  keeping  the  feeble 
empire  crushed  under  diplomacy,  backed  by  ships  and  cannon. 

One  of  the  most  important  persons  for  me  was  a  good  interpreter. 
A  tongue  was  more  than  a  right  arm.  To  procure  one  of  first-rate 
abilities  was  difficult.  When  the  embassy,  sent  out  by  the  ill-starred 
li  Kara  on  no  kami,  visited  Philadelphia,  I  had  frequently  seen  a  lively 
young  man  whom  every  one  called  "  Tommy,"  who  had  made  a  de- 
cidedly pleasant  impression  upon  the  ladies  and  the  Americans  gen- 
erally. "  Tommy  "  was  at  this  time  in  Tokio.  The  Echizen  officers 
went  to  him  and  asked  him  to  accept  the  position  of  interpreter,  at  a 
salary  of  one  thousand  dollars,  gold,  per  annum.  This  was  tempting 
pay  to  a  Japanese  ;  but  the  foreignized  Tommy  preferred  metropolitan 
life,  and  the  prospect  of  official  promotion,  to  regular  duties  in  an  in- 
terior province.  They  then  sought  among  the  corps  of  interpreters  in 
the  Imperial  College.  The  choice  fell  upon  Iwabuchi  (rock -edge), 
who,  fortunately  for  me,  accepted,  and  we  were  introduced.  This 
gentleman  was  about  twenty  years  old,  with  broad,  high  forehead,  lux- 
uriant hair  cut  in  foreign  style,  keen,  dancing  black  eyes,  and  blushing 
face.  He  was  a  ronin  samurai  of  secondary  rank,  and  rather  well  edu- 
cated. His  father  had  been  a  writing-master  in  Sakura,  Shimosa,  and 
Iwabuchi  was  an  elegant  writer.  He  wore  but  one  sword.  He  was 
of  delicate  frame,  his  face  lighted  by  intellect,  softened  by  his  habitual 
meekness,  but  prevented  by  a  trace  of  slyness  from  being  noble.  He 
seemed  the  very  type  of  a  Japanese  gentleman  of  letters.  He  was  as 
gentle  as  a  lady.  In  his  checkered  experience  at  Hakodate  and  other 
cities,  he  had  brushed  against  the  Briton,  the  Yankee,  the  French- 
man, and  the  Russian.  At  first  shy  and  retiring,  he  warmed  into 
friendship.  In  his  merry  moods  he  would  astonish  me  by  humming 
familiar  tunes,  and  recall  a  whole  chapter  of  home  memories  by  sing- 


402  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE, 

ing  snatches  of  American  college  and  street  songs.  In  his  angry 
moods,  when  American  steel  struck  Japanese  flint,  his  eyes  would 
snap  fire  and  his  frame  quiver.  For  over  a  year  Iwabuchi  was  inval- 
uable to  me,  until  my  own  articulation  became  bi-lingual ;  but  from 
first  to  last,  notwithstanding  occasional  friction,  arising  from  the  dif 
ference  in  American  and  Japanese  psychology,  we'  continued,  and  re- 
main, fast  friends. 

My  business  with  the  officers  of  the  Echizcn  clan  was  finished.  I 
was  engaged  to  teach  the  physical  sciences  in  the  city  of  Fukui,  the 
capital  of  the  province,  two  hundred  miles  west  of  Tokio,  and  twelve 
miles  from  the  Sea  of  Japan.  In  accordance  with  custom  observed 
between  foreigners  and  Japanese,  we  made  a  contract,  which,  after 
passing  the  inspection  and  receiving  the  approval  of  the  Guai  Mu  Sho 
(Office  of  Foreign  Affairs),  was  written  out  in  duplicate  in  imposing 
Chinese  characters,  and  in  plain  English.  I  agreed  to  teach  chemistry 
and  physics  for  the  space  of  three  years,  and  "  not  to  enter  into  any 
trading  operations  with  native  merchants."  The  insertion  of  a  comic 
clause,  very  funny  indeed  to  the  American,  but  quite  justifiable  by 
the  bitter  experience  of  the  Japanese,  was,  that  the  teacher  must  not 
get  drunk. 

They,  on  their  side,  agreed  to  pay  my  salary ;  to  build  me  a  house 
after  the  European  style ;  and  after  three  years  to  return  me  safely  to 
Yokohama;  to  hand  my  corpse  over  to  the  United  States  Consul  if  I 
should  die,  or  carry  me  to  him  should  I  be  disabled  through  sickness. 
Nothing  was  said  concerning  religion  in  any  reference  whatever,  but 
perfect  freedom  from  all  duties  whatsoever  was  guaranteed  me  on  Sun- 
days; and  I  had  absolute  liberty  to  speak,  teach,  or  do  as  I  pleased  in 
my  own  house. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  extreme  jealousy  with  which  the  mikado's 
ministers  guarded  the  supremacy  of  the  national  government,  the  first 
draft  of  the  contract,  made  by  myself,  was  rejected  by  the  Foreign  Of- 
fice because  I  had  written  "  the  government  of  Fukui,"  instead  of  the 
"local  authorities,"  a  correction  which  appeared  in  the  final  docu 
ments. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  several  of  the  daimios,  and  many  re- 
tainers of  various  clans.  A  Fukui  samurai,  whom  I  shall  call  Daremo, 
and  who  knew  to  a  rung  the  exact  status  of  every  one  on  the  social 
ladder,  always  informed  me  as  to  the  rank  of  the  various  personages 
whom  I  met  as  host  or  guest.  I  bought  the  latest  copy  of  the  Bu 
Kuan  (Mirror  of  the  Military  Families),  which  he  explained  and  trans- 


AMONG   THE  MEN  OF  NEW  JAPAN.  403 

fated  for  me.  In  discussing  eacli  one,  his  nose  rose  and  fell  with  the 
figures  before  him.  "That  gentleman  is  only  a  karo  of  a  10,000  koku 
daimio."  "This  is  himself,  a  fudai  daimio  of  15,000  koku.  With 
profound  indifference,  I  would  be  informed  that  the  person  who  called 
on  me  to  inquire  after  his  brother  in  New  York  was  "  merely  a  samu- 
rai of  a  30,000  koku  clan."  That  gentleman  whose  politeness  so  im- 
pressed me  was  "a  hatamoto  of  800  koku  ;  but  he  was  very  poor  since 
the  restoration."  Daremo's  congratulations  were  showered  thick  and 
fast  when  I  dined  with  the  kokushiu  Echizen  (360,000  koku),  and 
Uwajima  (100,000  koku),  with  five  or  six  karos.  He  also  translated 
for  me  the  letters  I  received  from  distinguished  Japanese  officers. 
With  the  aid  of  the  Bu  Kuan  and  Daremo,  I  was  soon  able  to  dis- 
tinguish many  of  the  rising  and  falling  men  of  Japan. 

I  had  seen  the  great  objects  of  interest  to  a  tourist.  I  had  feasted 
my  eyes  on  novelty  and  a  new  life,  yet  the  freshness  of  continual  glad 
surprise  was  not  yet  lost.  I  had  seen  the  old  glory  of  Yedo  in  ruins, 
and  the  new  national  life  of  Japan  emerging  from  Tokio  in  chaos.  I 
had  stood  face  to  face  with  paganism  for  the  first  time.  I  had  felt 
the  heart  of  Japan  pulsing  with  new  life,  and  had  seen  her  youth 
drinking  at  the  fountains  of  Western  science.  I  had  tasted  the  hospi- 
tality of  one  of  the  "  beginners  of  a  better  time."  I  had  learned  the 
power  of  the  keen  sword.  For  the  first  time  I  had  experience  of  pa- 
ganism, feudalism,  earthquakes,  Asiatic  life  and  morality.  I  had  seen 
how  long  contact  with  heathen  life  and  circumstances  slowly  disinte- 
grates the  granite  principles  of  eternal  right,  once  held  by  men  reared 
in  a  more  bracing  moral  atmosphere.  I  met  scores  of  white  men, 
from  Old  and  New  England,  who  had  long  since  forgotten  the  differ- 
ence between  right  and  wrong.  I  had  seen  also  the  surface  of  Japan. 
I  was  glad  to  go  into  the  interior.  I  bid  good-bye  to  Tokio,  and 
went  to  Yokohama  to  take  the  steamer  to  Kobe,  whence  I  should  go, 
via  Lake  Biwa,  and  over  the  mountains  to  the  city  of  the  Well  of 
Blessing,  Fukui. 

Our  party  made  rendezvous  at  a  native  hotel.  It  was  to  be  both  my 
ascort  and  following.  The  former  consisted  of  my  interpreter,  Iwa- 
buchi,  one  of  the  teachers  of  English  in  the  university  ;  Nakamura,  the 
soldier-guard,  who  had  fought  in  the  late  civil  war ;  and  the  treasurer, 
Emori,  a  polished  gentleman,  and  shrewd  man  of  the  Japanese  world. 
There  were  two  servants,  and,  with  my  own  cook  and  his  wife,  we 
made  up  a  party  of  eight  persons,  with  as  many  characters  and  dispo- 
sitions as  faces.  The  ship  to  take  us  to  Kobe  was  one  of  the  fine 


404 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


steamers  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Company's  fleet,  the  Oregonian.  As  sev- 
eral days  would  elapse  before  her  departure,  I  made  a  visit  to  Kanaza- 
wa,  Kamakura,  Enoshima,  and  Fujisawa,  with  Nakamura,  and  an  Amer- 
ican friend  who  spoke  Japanese  fluently.  That  visit  was  afterward  re- 
peated many  times.'  Every  spot  made  famous  by  Yoritomo,  Yoshit- 
sune,  Seminan  and  Kugio,  the  Hojo,  Nitta  Yoshisada,  Nichiren,  and  the 
Ashikaga,  was  seen  over  and  over  again,  until  the  life  of  old  Japan 
became  as  vivid  to  me  as  the  thrilling  scenes  of  our  own  late  war. 
Besides  the  architectural  remains  of  these  classic  places,  is  a  rich  mu- 
seum of  armor,  weapons,  and  other  mediaeval  antiquities  in  the  temple 
on  Tsuruga-oka,  in  Kamakura. 

On  our  ride  back,  Fuji,  all  in  white,  loomed  up  grandly.  A  flurry 
of  snow  added  to  its  beauty.  In  such  a  snow-shower  the  artist  must 
have  made  the  spirited  sketch  here  reproduced.  Snow  rarely  falls  on 
the  Tokaido  to  a  depth  greater  than  two  inches,  and  usually  neither 
hoof  nor  sandal,  as  in  the  cut,  sinks  beneath  its  level.  The  Japanese, 
however,  make  a  great  fuss  over  a  little  cold.  They  go  about  with 
their  hands  in  their  sleeves,  which  stick  out  like  the  wings  of  a  trussed 
turkey,  repeating  " samui,  samui"  (cold,  cold),  until  it  loses  all  origi- 
nality. 


Travelers  on  the  Tokaido  in  a  Snow-storm.    Fuji  san. 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN.  405 


VII. 

IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN. 

THE  weather  was  rough  as  we  embarked,  late  in  the  afternoon  of 
February  22d,  on  the  Oregonian,  and  steamed  down  the  Bay  of  Yedo. 
At  night,  the  fixed  white  light  in  the  stone  tower  on  Cape  Idzu,  visi- 
ble twenty  miles,  reminded  us  of  the  new  order  of  things.  Of  old  a 
wood-fire  blazed  on  the  promontory.  The  Nil  did  not  yet  know  the 
fate  to  befall  her.* 

The  next  day  was  foggy,  and  mal  de  mer  held  high  revel  among 
the  passengers.  The  Oregonian  was  true  to  the  reputation  of  its 
namesake  given  by  Bryant — "where  rolls  the  mighty  Oregon."  My 
own  thoughts  were  less  poetic.  My  feelings  are  best  described  by 
the  Japanese  proverb,  "  A  sea-voyage  is  an  inch  of  hell." 

About  midnight  we  rounded  the  promontory  of  Kii,  where  Jimmu 
passed  centuries  ago.  Its  splendid  light-house,  on  a  promontory  one 
hundred  and  thirty  feet  high,  on  O  Island,  holds  a  revolving  white 
light,  alternately  flashing  and  being  eclipsed  during  every  minute.  O 
is  a  good  harbor  for  wind-bound  junks,  and  the  fishermen  here  are 
noted  whalers,  hunting  whales  successfully  with  nets  and  spears.  The 
light  on  Cape  Shiwo,  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  above  water,  may 
be  seen  for  twenty  miles.  Ships  from  China  make  this  point  night  or 
day. 

The  three  officers  of  our  party  had  been  empowered  to  take  cabin 
passage  with  their  foreign  charge ;  but  such  a  foolish  waste  of  money 
was  not  to  be  thought  of.  To  pay  forty  dollars  for  forty-eight  hours, 
and  three  hundred  and  forty-two  geographical  miles  of  nausea  in  a 
state-room,  was  not  according  to  their  ideas  of  happiness.  Far  better 


*On  the  night  of  the  20th  of  March,  1874,  at  10.30  P.M.,  the  French  M.  M. 
steamer  Nil,  having  on  board  one  hundred  and  eleven  persons,  and  the  Japanese 
articles  on  exhibition  at  Vienna,  her  engines  being  out  of  order,  and  the  currents 
unusually  strong,  lost  her  reckoning,  struck  a  rock  near  the  village  of  Irima,  in 
Yoshida  Bay,  ten  miles  from  Cape  Idzu,  and  sunk  in  twenty-one  fathoms.  Only 
four  persons  were  saved.  A  marble  monument  was  erected,  and  now  commemo- 
rates the  accident,  which  was  robbed  of  many  of  its  saddest  features  by  the  kind- 
ness and  energy  of  the  natives. 


406  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

to  take  the  steerage,  save  the  money,  and  have  a  feast,  dance,  and  song 
with  the  gay  and  charming  singing-girls  of  Ozaka.  So  to  the  steer- 
age they  went,  and  solaced  their  transient  misery  with  visions  of  the 
Ozaka  paradise  and  the  black-eyed  houris.  They  suffered  "an  inch 
of  hell "  for  a  yard  of  heaven. 

I  woke  on  the  second  morning  in  the  harbor  of  Hiogo  and  Kobe 
(the  Gate  of  God),  the  former  the  native  city,  the  latter  the  foreign 
town.  All  around  the  land-locked  water  were  bold  walls  of  green 
hills.  French,  English,  and  American  ships  of  war  lay  at  anchor,  and 
the  clumsy  junks,  with  their  great,  broad  sails,  plowed  across  the  path 
of  the  dancing  sunbeams.  Native  fishing  and  carriage  boats  were 
leaping  over  the  waters,  urged  on  by  the  stroke  of  the  naked  scullers. 
On  shore,  glorified  by  the  mild  winter's  sun,  rose  the  "  model  settle- 
ment," a  fresh  proof  of  Occidental  energy  on  Oriental  soil.  Until 
1868,  the  site  of  the  pretty  town,  laid  out  in  chess-board  regularity, 
was  a  mere  strip  of  sand.* 

Under  convoy  of  Iwabuchi  and  an  American  friend,  to  whom  I 
bore  letters,  I  spent  a  day  and  a  half  in  Kobe  and  Hiogo.  The  latter 
city  was  erected  in  the  days  of  Taira  glory.  Its  name  means  "  arse- 
nal," but  peaceful  trade  now  rules  its  streets.  Near  it  stands  Kiyo- 
mori's  tomb.  On  the  site  of  the  Taira  palace  stands  a  great  brothel. 
At  Minato  gawa,  near  Kobe,  Kusunoki  Masashige,  the  mirror  of  Jap- 
anese loyalty,  welcomed  death.  A  small  temple  stands  as  a  historic 
monument  of  the  act,  dedicated  to  his  spirit. 

In  the  choerful  home  of  an  American  missionary,  to  whom  I  bore 
letters,  I  spent  a  few  delightful  hours.  They  seemed  to  have  brought 
the  freshness  and  fragrance  of  New  England  hills,  as  well  as  the  ener- 
gy and  patience  of  their  ancestors,  with  them.  The  time  for  active 
Christian  labor  had  not  yet  come ;  but  the  language  was  being  mas- 
tered, and  his  morning  hours  were  golden  in  the  study.  In  the  aft- 
ernoon, we  together  visited  a  famous  temple,  on  the  site  of  one  first 
erected  by  Jingu  Kogo,  on  her  return  from  Corea.  Crowds  of  pil- 
grims, in  white  robes,  with  wallet,  staff,  rosary,  bell,  and  memorial  shell 
sewed  to  their  sleeve,  were  on  the  route  or  return.  We  spent  the 
evening  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  merchant  princes  of  Kobe,  in 
whose  establishment  Oriental  luxuriance  and  American  taste,  barbaric 
pomp  and  cozy  comfort,  were  combined. 


*  The  figures  of  the  official  register  of  Kobe  (May,  1874)  are:   houses,  3846; 
population, 8554;  foreign  residents, 332 ;  in  the  foreign  "concession,"  67 houses. 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN. 


407 


Our  party  were  early  on  the  steamboat,  which  carried  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  at  her  stern,  and  was  commanded  by  a  Yankee  captain.  It 
was  crowded  with  natives,  who  rode  for  ichi  bu  (twenty-five  cents). 
The  five  or  six  foreigners  in  the  cabin  paid  each  two  "clean  Mexi- 
cans." These  silver  eagles  are  the  standard  of  value  in  Japan  and 
China,  though  Uncle  Sam's  trade-dollars  and  Japanese  gold  yen  are 
now  contesting  their  supremacy. 

We  steamed  along  the  coast  for  three  hours ;  passed  the  forts  built 
in  1855,  and  well  mounted  and  manned;  passed  the  light -house  of 
Tcmpozan  (Hill  of  Heavenly  Peace),  and  at  noon,  February  25th,  1871, 
I  stood  in  the  city  called,  in  poetry,  Naniwa — in  prose,  Ozaka. 


Buddhist  Pilgrims. 

All  the  large  daimios  formerly  had  yashikis  in  Yedo,  Ozaka,  and 
in  Kioto,  as  well  as  in  their  own  capitals,  for  the  use  of  the  clan. 
They  served  as  caravansaries,  at  which  the  lord  or  his  retainers  might 
lodge,  when  on  business  or  travel,  and  be  treated  according  to  their 
rank.  But  one  or  two  samurai  and  their  families  occupied  the  Echi- 
zen  yashiki  in  Ozaka,  which  could  lodge  a  hundred  or  more  men.  A 
suite  of  rooms  was  soon  swept  and  dusted  out,  rugs  laid  on  the  mat- 
ting, and  dinner,  in  mixed  Japanese  and  American  style,  was  served. 

Ozaka  is  a  gay  city,  with  lively  people,  and  plenty  of  means  of 
amusement,  especially  theatres  and  singing  -  girls.  The  ladies  are 


408  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

handsomer,  dress  in  better  taste,  tie  their  girdles  in  a  style  nearer  per- 
fection, and  build  coiffures  that  are  at  once  the  envy  and  despair  of 
Tokio  damsels.  Ozaka  has  every  sort  of  gay  life.  In  all  the  large 

cities  there  are  geisha,  noted 
for  their  wit,  beauty,  skill  in 
playing  the  three-stringed  ban- 
jo. The  daughters  of  Kioto 
and  Tokio  do  excellently,  but 
those  of  Ozaka  excel  them  all. 
Ozaka  is  also  the  greatest 
commercial  city  in  Japan.  I 
was  interested  in  the  metal  re- 
fineries and  foundries,  where 
The  Shmisen.  the  rosy  COpper  ingots  were 

cast,  and  brass  cannon  of  elegant  workmanship  turned  out.  With 
Iwabuchi  as  guide,  I  rambled  over  the  city,  and  stood  on  many  a 
spot  made  classic  by  Nobuuaga,  Hideyoshi,  and  lyeyasu.  Ivvabuchi's 
fluent  tongue  and  knowledge  of  history  were  as  spectacles  to  me,  en- 
abling me  to  see  the  past  as  he  summoned  it  from  resurrection. 

An  officer  from  Fukui  brought  us  word,  February  27th,  that  we 
were  to  leave  Ozaka  that  night,  and  that  at  Fushimi  an  honorary  es- 
cort of  seven  mounted  officers  of  the  clan  would  meet  me,  they  hav- 
ing come  down  from  Fukui,  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  to  escort 
me.  We  were  to  proceed  up  the  Yodo,  the  river  that  drains  six  prov- 
inces, visit  the  temple  of  Hachiman  or  Ojin  Tenno,  dine  in  historic 
Fushimi,  and  thence  proceed  on  horseback  to  Lake  Biwa.  The  mor- 
row was  to  be  a  red-letter  day. 

We  left  Ozaka  at  night,  about  ten  o'clock.  It  was  very  cold,  and 
bright  moonlight,  but  the  boat  was  a  "  house-boat,"  and  the  cabin  with- 
in was  neatly  matted,  and  with  rugs  and  hibachi  we  kept  up  a  genial 
temperature  until  bed-time.  We  passed  hundreds  of  boats  like  our 
own,  and  after  making  our  way  through  the  city,  that  might  be  a 
Venice  if  it  were  not  wooden,  passed  the  long  rows  of  fire-proof  store- 
houses, and  gradually  emerged  into  the  country,  where,  except  a  scat- 
tered village  here  and  there,  we  saw  only  the  grand  mountains  and 
pines,  and  the  silent  landscape.  The  boat  was  provided  with  four 
rowers,  though  after  we  left  the  city,  the  river  being  shallow,  they  had 
to  pole  along,  like  Mississippi  flat-boat  walkers.  Throughout  the 
frosty  night  we  slept,  waking  occasionally  to  listen  to  the  ripples  un- 
der the  bow.  The  sendo  plied  their  poles,  and  at  day-break  we  were 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN.  409 

far  from  Ozaka,  with  the  classic  ground  of  Kawachi  on  our  right,  and 
Scttsu  on  our  left. 

The  sun  clothed  the  hills  in  light,  revealing  the  landscape,  and  kin- 
dled the  frost  on  our  cabin-roof  into  resplendent  prisinatics.  We  were 
in  the  clear  water  of  the  Yodo  River,  which  flowed  at  a  gentle  current 
between  banks  of  undergrowth,  with  groves  of  firs  and  bamboo,  and 
here  and  there  a  group  of  thatched  villages,  through  which  the  Jesuits 
and  Franciscans  preached  Mary,  St.  Peter,  and  Christ,  over  two  centu- 
ries ago.  Along  the  shores  stood  white  herons,  tall  storks,  and,  occa- 
sionally, huge  hawks. 

While  musing  on  the  past,  and  imagining  the  Portuguese  missiona- 
ries, crucifix  in  hand,  preaching  on  that  open  space,  or  erecting  a  cross 
on  that  knoll,  Nakamura  came  out  and  pointed  out  the  villages  of  Ha- 
shimoto (foot  of  the  bridge)  and  Yamazaki  (mountain  point),  where, 
in  1868,  the  contest  at  Fushimi  was  continued.  The  Tokugawa  army 
held  Hashimoto,  while  the  mikado's  troops  attacked  them  by  land,  and 
bombarded  them  from  a  redoubt  in  Yamazaki,  until  they  fled,  defeated 
and  in  disorder,  to  Ozaka,  when  the  shogun  notified  the  foreign  min- 
isters that  he  could  no  longer  protect  them.  I  enjoyed  Nakamura's 
talk  richly,  and,  refreshed  by  the  "  sweet  mother  of  fresh  thoughts  and 
health,"  body  and  mind  were  ready  to  drink  in  the  sweet  influences  of 
that  glorious  morning  in  the  heart  of  Japan.  But  what  of  the  boat- 
men ? 

After  a  hard  night's  toil,  poling  and  walking  in  a  nipping  frost,  I 
wished  to  see  the  breakfast  by  which  they  laid  the  physical  basis  for 
another  day's  work.  At  the  stern  of  the  boat,  resting  on  a  little  fur- 
nace, was  the  universal  rice-pot,  and  beside  it  a  small  covered  wooden 
tub,  full  of  rice.  Some  pickled  or  boiled  slices  of  the  huge  radish 
called  dai-kon  lay  in  another  receptacle.  The  drink  was  the  cheapest 
tea.  It  may  possibly  be  true,  what  some  foreigners  assert,  that  the 
lower  classes  in  Japan  feast  on  rats.  "The  daily  ration  of  a  Japanese 
laborer  was  one  mouse  per  diem ;"  so  I  was  once  told  in  America.  I 
never  saw  or  heard  of  such  animals  being  eaten  during  all  the  time  I 
was  in  Japan  ;  but  I  now  looked  for  some  stimulating  food,  some  piece 
of  flesh  diet  to  be  eaten  by  these  men,  who  had  to  make  muscle  and 
repair  the  waste  of  lubricating  their  joints.  But  nothing  further  was 
forthcoming,  and  the  sendo  whose  turn  came  first  sat  down  to  his 
breakfast.  The  first  course  was  a  bowlful  of  rice  and  a  pair  of  chop- 
sticks. In  the  second  course,  history  repeated  itself.  The  third  course 
was  a  dipperful  of  tea,  apparently  one-half  a  solution  of  tannic  acid, 


410  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

in  which  a  raw  hide  might  have  been  safely  left  to  tan.  I  wondei 
whether  the  disease  of  ossification  of  the  coats  of  the  stomach,  so  com- 
mon in  Japan,  arises  from  the  constant  drinking  such  astringent  liq- 
uor. The  fourth  course  was  a  bowl  of  rice  and  two  slices  of  radish ; 
the  fifth  was  the  same.  A  dipperful  of  tea-liquor  finished  the  meal, 
and  the  pole  was  resumed.  I  noticed  grist-mills  on  scows  or  rafts 
anchored  in  the  river,  the  current  turning  the  huge  wheels  slowly  to 
grind  or  hull  rice.  They  were  quite  similar  to  those  I  had  noticed  on 
the  Rhine  and  other  European  rivers. 

At  nine  o'clock  we  came  in  front  of  the  village  Yawata,  at  which 
there  was  a  guard-house,  which  we  knew,  at  a  distance,  by  its  peculiar- 
ly shaped  lantern  and  canvas  hangings,  like  curtains,  on  which  was  the 
huge  crest  of  the  mikado — an  open  chrysanthemum  flower.  Our  boat 
hove  to,  and  Nakamura,  the  officer  of  the  party,  explained  who  we 
were,  and  what  our  business  was,  and  we  then  landed  in  the  village. 

While  our  boat,  with  the  servants,  was  sent  ahead  to  Fushimi,  we 
four  wended  our  way  up  the  mountain  Otoko  yama  to  the  part  called 
Pigeon-peak,  where  stands  the  great  Shinto  temple,  on  a  site  first  built 
upon  in  860  A.D.,  and  dedicated  to  Ojin  Tenno,  the  son  of  Jingu  Kogo, 
who  conquered  Corea  by  the  divine  spirit  bestowed  on  her  then  un- 
born son.  It  was  made  further  famous  by  the  gift  from  Hideyoshi 
of  a  golden  gutter,  to  collect  the  sacred  droppings  of  the  sanctuary. 
Ascending  the  last  of  many  flights  of  stone  steps,  we  stood  upon  a 
plateau.  A  long  avenue  arcade,  with  overarching  pines,  and  lined  with 
tall  stone  lanterns,  led  to  the  temple  facade.  Two  priests,  robed  in 
pure  white,  with  high  black  lacquered  caps  on  their  heads,  were  bear- 
ing offerings  of  fish,  fruit,  and  other  food,  to  place  upon  the  altar,  each 
article  being  laid  on  a  sheet  of  pure  white  paper,  or  ceremonial  trays. 
In  the  perfectly  clean  and  austerely  simple  nave  of  the  temple  stood 
an  altar,  having  upon  it  only  the  gohei,  or  wands,  with  notched  strips 
of  white  paper  dependent. 

There  were  no  idols,  images,  or  pictures,  only  the  gohei,  the  offer- 
ings, and  the  white-robed  priests  at  prayer.  The  impressive  simplici- 
ty, the  sequestered  site  on  a  lofty  mountain  surrounded  with  tall  trees 
of  majestic  growth  and  of  immemorial  antiquity,  the  beauty,  the  si 
lence,  all  combined  to  instill  reverence  and  holy  awe  alike  in  the  alien 
spectator  as  in  the  native  worshiper.  The  head  of  the  foreigner  un- 
covered, and  his  feet  were  unshod  simultaneously  with  the  unsandal- 
ing  of  the  feet,  the  bowing  of  the  head,  and  the  reverent  meeting  of 
the  palms  of  his  companions. 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAM  411 

On  the  porch  the  priests,  having  finished  their  prayer,  came  out, 
and  politely  greeted  the  American,  informing  him,  through  Iwabuchi, 
that  he  was  the  first  foreigner  who  had  ever  visited  the  temple.  They 
then  showed  him  the  fine  carving  and  ornaments  of  the  eaves  and  out- 
er walls,  and  the  portion  which  remained  of  the  large  golden  gutter, 
made  of  beaten  gold,  over  a  foot  in  diameter.  Only  a  few  feet  of  the 
once  extensive  gift  have  survived  the  ravages  of  war  and  the  necessi- 
ties of  rulers,  who,  in  Japan  or  elsewhere,  replenish  their  depleted  ex 
chequers  or  treasuries  from  the  riches  of  the  temples. 

The  records  of  this  temple  declare  that  it  was  erected  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  priest  Gio  Kio,  who  wished  to  dedicate  a  temple  to  Ojin 
Tenno  in  Bungo ;  that  it  was  the  desire  of  the  spirit  of  the  god  to 
dwell  near  the  capital,  so  as  to  watch  over  the  imperial  house.  Hence 
it  was  located  here.  The  Buddhists  had  already  canonized  him  as 
Hachiman  Dai  Bosatsu,  or  the  Incarnation  of  Buddha  of  the  Eight 
Banners.  Hence,  among  the  devotees  of  the  India  faith,  this  god  of 
war,  and  patron  of  warriors,  is  called  Hachiman,  and  by  those  of  the 
native  cult  Ojin  Tenno.  Hachi-man  (kacki,  eight ;  man,  banners)  is 
the  Chinese  form  of  Yawata  (ya,  eight ;  wata,  banners). 

We  descended  the  northern  side  of  the  mountain  toward  Fushimi, 
and  passed  through  Yodo,  an  old  castle  town,  to  which  the  defeated 
Tokugawa  army  retreated  after  their  rout  at  Fushimi.  Nakamura, 
who  was  familiar  with  every  foot  of  ground,  having  had  a  hand  in 
many  a  fight  in  and  around  Kioto  during  the  civil  war,  pointed  out 
the  site  of  the  battle  that  opened  the  war  of  the  Restoration.  For- 
getting the  fact  that  our  dinner  hour  had  come,  we  went  to  examine 
this  cock-pit  of  1868.  There,  on  the  west  bank,  the  Aidzu  and  Ku- 
wana  clans,  that  formed  the  van  of  Tokugawa's  army,  landed  on  the 
27th  of  January,  1868,  and,  attempting  to  pass  the  barriers  at  Toba, 
received  into  their  bosoms  the  canister  from  the  Satsuma  cannon. 
The  Tokugawa  troops  marched  along  a  narrow  path  in  the  rice-fields 
only  a  few  feet  wide,  like  a  causeway,  through  a  lake  of  paddy-field 
ooze.  To  move  from  the  path  was  to  sink  knee-deep  in  a  glutinous 
quagmire.  To  advance  was  to  climb  over  the  writhing,  wounded,  and 
slippery  dead  men,  only  to  face  cannon  aimed  point-blank,  while  the 
musketry  of  the  sheltered  Southerners  enfiladed  their  long,  snake-like 
lines.  Numbers  only  increased  the  sureness  of  the  immense  target  at 
which  Remington  riflemen  were  practicing  in  coolness  and  earnest. 
"  That  field,"  at  which  the  long  and  bony  finger  of  our  cicerone  point- 
ed, "  was  piled  with  dead  men  like  bundles  of  fire-wood." 


412  THE  MIKADOES  EMPIRE. 

On  the  first  advance,  the  Tokugawa  men  broke  and  ran;  but,  on 
the  second,  the  fighting  began  on  both  the  two  roads,  the  Fushimi 
and  the  Toba,  which  lead  to  Kioto.  "  Here,"  said  he,  "  is  where  the 
rebels  [Tokugawa  army]  were  surprised  while  eating,  at  early  morning. 
In  that  bamboo  grove,  our  men  \kuan  gun,  mikado's  army]  made  an 
ambuscade,  and  tore  up  the  rebel  ranks  dreadfully."  Then  the  village 
of  Toba  caught  fire,  and  the  rebels  fled  to  Yodo,  finding,  to  their 
chagrin,  that  the  castle  was  barred  against  them.  Fushimi  was  also 
burned  during  the  fight.  "  There,"  said  our  guide,  as  we  neared  the 
town,  "  is  where  the  fire  began." 

We  walked  up  the  historic  streets  in  which  the  tramp  of  armies 
had  so  often  resounded,  through  which  Nobunaga,  Hideyoshi,  lyeyasu, 
and  Xavier,  had  passed,  in  which  the  Jesuits  had  stood  preaching  to 
listening  crowds  of  people  like  those  before  me.  The  town  itself  dis- 
appointed me.  The  feeling  was  the  same  as  that  experienced  in 
Washington  in  1865.  I  went  thither  to  behold  the  demi-gods  who, 
through  a  hundred  battles,  had  borne  the  old  flag  to  victory.  I  saw 
Grant's  and  Sherman's  legions  of  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
men  march  up  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  There  was  no  halo  round  their 
heads.  They  were  not  giants.  They  were  plain  men  in  blue  blouses. 
Fushimi,  with  all  its  history,  was  a  poverty-stricken  Japanese  town. 

Further  recollections  of  Fushimi  are  mainly  of  vulgar  and  gastro- 
nomic interest.  I  remember  that  a  certain  man  had  climbed  up  a 
mountain,  and  then  tramped  down  again  at  an  appetite -sharpening 
pace,  and  that  his  special  objects  of  interest  and  desire  at  that  time 
were  something  to  eat.  Subordinate  to  these  were  a  bath  and  a  lounge. 
The  hungry  man  had  shed  his  tight-fitting  skin  of  boots,  coat,  and 
hat,  and  was  tranquil  in  looser  robes  over  the  soothing  warmth  of  a 
cone  of  live  coals  in  a  bronze  hibachi.  The  dissolving  views  of  his 
reveries,  compounded  of  what  he  had  seen  and  yearnings  of  what  lie 
expected,  were  suddenly  broken  by  the  advent  of  a  steaming  and  fra- 
grant tray  of  food  cooked  by  one  of  the  best  culinary  artists  in  Japan, 
a  native  who  had  learned  the  art  at  the  club  in  Yokohama.  It  is,  of 
course,  too  well  known  to  Englishmen  and  others  that  the  American 
at  his  meals  is  an  animal  not  to  be  lightly  disturbed.  After  the  feed 
is  over,  he  is  placable,  and  ready  for  business. 

I  was  scarcely  through  my  dish  of  lily -bulbs,  and  had  not  yet 
touched  my  rice  and  curry,  and  California  canned-meats,  when  Iwalm- 
chi,  my  interpreter,  announced  the  arrival  of  five  samurai  from  Fukui, 
who  had  traveled  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  to  meet  the  American, 


7iV  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN.  413 

and  wished  to  see  him  immediately,  to  pay  their  respects,  and  announce 
themselves  as  uiy  escort  to  Fukui.  They  would  be  in  the  room  in  a 
moment. 

"  Can  they  not  wait  a  few  minutes  till  I  finish  my  dinner?"  I  asked. 

"  I  am  afraid  not,"  replied  he ;  "  they  are  very  eager  to  see  you  im- 
mediately. Such  are  their  orders  from  their  superior  at  Fukui." 

"  Well,  but  I  am  in  deshabille.     I  can't  be  seen  in  this  style." 

"  Oh !  indeed,  they  won't  care  for  that.  Besides,  here  they  are  at 
the  door.  They  merely  sent  me  to  announce  them." 

It  was  too  late  to  stop  the  invasion,  so  the  animal  must  forego  his 
provender  for  a  time.  The  paper  sliding-doors  were  pulled  aside,  and 
five  stalwart  men  entered  and  stood  in  line,  eyes  front,  facing  me.  I 
mentally  waited  to  see  how  the  ceremonies  would  proceed.  In  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye  they  all  sunk  on  their  knees,  spread  their  hands 
prone  before  them,  and  bowed  their  heads  for  full  fifteen  seconds  on 
the  floor.  Then,  resilient,  all  sat  in  a  row  on  their  heels,  and  spread 
out  their  robes,  with  hands  in  their  hakama.  The  leader  then  handed 
Iwabuchi  an  imposing  paper  to  read,  which  set  forth  that  they  had 
been  sent  by  the  daimio  from  Fukui,  to  bear  the  congratulations  of 
the  authorities,  and  to  escort  the  American  teacher  to  Fukui.  This 
solemnly  done,  they  bowed  profoundly  again  and  departed.  It  was 
all  over  within  two  minutes.  The  meal  was  finished  in  peace  and 
abundance,  and  then  began  the  preparations  for  the  ride  to  Otsu, 
eight  miles  distant.  The  baggage  and  servants  were  dispatched  by 
boat,  and  at  half -past  four  all  were  mounted,  and  we  started.  Our 
cavalcade  consisted  of  nine  hoises  and  riders. 

The  air  was  damp,  and  the  sky  was  leaden,  when  we  started.  The 
whole  household  were  at  the  gate  of  the  court-yard,  to  bow  low  and 
cry  "  sayonara,"1"1  and  the  whole  village  was  assembled,  and  stood  agape 
to  see  the  foreigner. 

Out  past  the  shanties  of  the  village,  our  path  lay  over  a  wooded 
mountain,  and  then  the  snow  fell,  turning  to  slush  as  it  touched  coat, 
horse,  or  earth.  In  an  hour  we  were  all  white  with  cloggy  masses  of 
snow,  and  in  places  wet  to  the  skin  with  the  cold  soaking  of  sleet. 
Twilight  succeeded  the  day,  and  darkness  the  twilight,  until  only  the 
gigantic  forms  of  the  firs  bearded  with  snow,  and  so  silent,  were  out- 
lined through  the  slow  shower  of  flakes.  Far  up  into  vague  infinity 
loomed  the  mountains,  occasionally  a  beetling  rock  thrusting  out  its 
mighty  mas3  in  a  form  of  visible  darkness.  After  five  hours  of  such 
riding  it  grew  uncomfortable.  Every  flake,  as  it  fell,  seemed  to  have 


414  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

weight.  To  cold,  wet,  chattering  travelers,  what  comforts  could  a 
Japanese  inn  afford? 

The  same  difference  exists  in  Japan  as  in  highly  civilized  countries 
in  regard  to  hotels  and  their  keepers,  as  concerning  unexpected  or  an- 
nounced guests.  To  come  suddenly  to  a  Japanese  inn  in  winter  is  to 
shiver,  as  in  a  refrigerator,  and  wait  cheerlessly  for  an  intolerably  long 
time,  and  understand  all  about  Greenland,  before  the  fire  and  food  are 
brought,  the  thaw  sets  in,  and  comfort  is  attained.  At  Otsu  (now 
called  Shiga),  however,  a  blazing  fire  was  ready  as  our  party  rode  into 
the  court-yard.  Boots  and  coat  off,  I  was  led  into  the  best  room,  on 
which  a  pile  of  silken  quilts  was  spread  for  my  bed,  and  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  room  was  that  sum  of  delights,  a  kotatsu.  Poor,  civilized 
reader,  or  Western  barbarian,  you  do  not  know  what  a  kotatsu  is? 
No?  Let  me  tell  you.  In  the  very  centre  of  the  room  lift  up  that 
square  foot  of  matting,  and  you  will  find  a  stone-lined  bowl,  a  few 
inches  deep.  In  this  the  fat  and  red-cheeked  chamber-maid  puts  a 
shovelful  of  live  coals.  Over  it  she  sets  a  wooden  frame,  a  foot  high, 
called  a  yagura,  after  the  castle-tower  which  it  imitates.  Over  this 
she  spreads  a  huge  quilt.  It  is  an  extemporary  oven,  in  which  you 
can  bake  yourself  by  drawing  the  quilt  about  you,  and  find  a  little 
heaven  of  heat,  exchanging  shivers  for  glow.  A  kotatsu  may  be  safe- 
ly warranted  to  change  a  grumbler,  who  believes  Japan  to  be  a  wretch- 
ed hole  of  a  barbarian  country,  into  a  rhapsodist  who  is  ready  to  swear 
that  the  same  country  is  a  paradise,  within  ten  minutes. 

The  next  morning  we  were  to  take  steamer,  and  cross  Lake  Biwa 
to  Ilanoura,  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake.  Kioto  lay  but  seven  miles 
distant  from  us,  and  I  could  easily  have  visited  the  sacred  city ;  but  I 
was  eager  to  get  to  my  work.  Besides,  I  wished  to  study  it  when  I 
could  best  appreciate  it,  and  see  it  with  a  knowledge  of  Japanese  his- 
tory for  my  spectacles.  So  I  postponed  the  trip  till  three  years  later. 
I  glance  round  Otsu  in  a  short  walk.  Its  name  means  Great  Harbor. 
I  saw  some  of  the  very  places  mentioned  by  Kaempfer  and  the  Jes- 
uits. 

Our  hotel  was  near  the  steamer's  dock.  At  9  A.M.,  cur  party, 
twelve  in  all,  were  on  board,  and  a  lighter,  full  of  our  baggage,  was 
in  tow.  The  little  steamer  screeched  once  or  twice,  ending  in  a  pro- 
longed squeal,  and  we  were  fairly  out  on  the  bosom  of  Japan's  largest 
lake.  It  was  a  strange  sight,  here  in  Inland  Japan,  to  see  a  steamboat 
pulsing  over  the  water,  and  stretching  its  long  scarfs  of  smoke  in  the 
pure  'jir  against  the  white  snow  and  the  azure  of  the  mountains.  The 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAX.  415 

Golden  Age,  always  alloyed  with  poverty  and  ignorance  and  discom- 
forts, was  past  for  Japan  ;  the  Iron  Age  of  smoke,  of  coal,  of  comfort, 
of  wealth,  was  coining. 

The  Lilliputian  steamer,  compared  with  one  of  our  Hudson  River 
ferry-boats,  was  as  a  Japanese  tea-cup  to  a  soda-water  tumbler,  or  a 
thimble  to  a  gill.  It  was  only — I  am  afraid  to  say  how  many  feet 
short,  and  inches  narrow.  Its  engines,  like  its  entire  self,  were  oscil- 
lating. Captain,  engineer,  fireman,  and  crew  were  all  Japanese.  The 
accommodations  of  the  passengers  were  strictly  graded.  The  cabin, 
in  the  stern,  was  ten  feet  by  six,  and  four  feet  high.  At  one  end,  a 
platform,  six  inches  high,  three  feet  wide,  six  feet  long,  and  covered 
with  a  rug,  was  the  "first-class."  At  the  side  was  a  set  of  sword- 
racks.  The  floor  of  the  rest  of  the  same  cabin,  six  inches  lower,  was 
"  second-class."  The  promenade-deck  was  ten  feet  by  six,  two  square 
feet  being  occupied  by  the  refreshment-vender  of  the  boat,  who  fur- 
nished tea,  boiled  rice,  rice  cracknels,  pickles,  rice  rolls  wrapped  in  sea- 
weed, boiled  cuttle-fish,  etc.,  to  those  who  wished  refreshment.  He 
seemed  to  drive  a  brisk  trade ;  for,  besides  our  party  of  eight,  who  oc- 
cupied the  cabin  and  deck,  our  servants  and  about  a  dozen  other  na- 
tives filled  a  hole  in  the  bow,  which  was  "  third-class." 

I  preferred  first-class  air.  I  kept  on  deck,  watching  the  snow-clad 
mountains,  and  the  historic  towns,  castles,  and  villages,  and  now  and 
then  a  boat  under  sail  or  oar.  Biwa  ko,  as  the  natives  call  it,  is  as 
green  and  almost  as  beautiful  as  a  Swiss  lake.  It  is  named  after  the 
musical  instrument  called  a  biwa,  because  shaped  like  it.  Tradition 
says  that  in  one  night  Fuji  san  rose  out  of  the  earth  in  Suruga,  and 
in  one  night  the  earth  sunk  in  Omi,  and  this  lake,  sixty  miles  long, 
was  formed.  The  monotony  of  the  voyage  was  broken  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  little  boat  swung  to  its  moorings 
at  the  village  of  Hanoura.  The  place  reminded  me  of  Kussnacht,  at 
the  end  of  Lake  Lucerne.  We  stepped  out  into  what  seemed  a  vil- 
lage of  surpassing  poverty.  The  houses  were  more  than  ordinarily 
dilapidated.  The  streets  were  masses  of  slush  and  mud.  The  people 
seemed,  all  of  them,  dirty,  poor,  ragged.  I  had  full  opportunities  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  all  of  them,  for  every  one  quickly  informed 
his  neighbors  that  a  foreigner  was  among  them,  and  soon  the  color  of 
his  eyes  and  hair,  his  clothes  and  actions,  were  discussed,  and  himself 
made  the  nine  days'  wonder  of  the  village. 

I  began  to  realize  the  utter  poverty  and  wretchedness  of  the  people 
and  the  country  of  Japan.  It  was  not  an  Oriental  paradise,  such  as  a 


416 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


reader  of  some  books  about  it  may  have  supposed.  I  had  only  a  faint 
conception  of  it  then.  I  saw  it  afterward,  until  the  sight  oppressed 
me  like  nightmare.  At  present,  novelty  lent  its  chromatic  lenses,  and 
tinged  all  my  view.  Then,  too,  I  thought  that  the  wretched  weather 
and  leaden  sky  had  something  to  do  with  my  feelings ;  and  when  the 
servant-maids  brought  water  and  waited  on  my  companions,  as  they 
took  off  their  wet  boots,  sandals,  and  socks,  with  such  hearty  cheer, 
merry  smiles,  and  graceful  skill,  every  thing  looked  as  if  sunshine  had 
sifted  through  a  cloud-rift. 

I  was  quite  restored  to  myself  again  by  a  sight  that  banished  all 
disgust.  A  jolly-looking,  fat  girl  was  half  hobbling,  half  staggering 

along  on  her  clogs,  her  generous 
physique  quivering  like  heaps  of 
jelly.  Her  left  hand  grasped  the 
cross-handle  of  a  bucket  of  water, 
which  was  in  a  state  of  general 
splash,  like  herself.  Her  right 
arm,  bared  by  her  bag-like  sleeves 
being  bound  to  her  armpits,  was 
extended  far  over  toward  the 
ground  to  countervail  gravity  on 
the  other  side.  I  momentarily 
expected  this  buxom  Gill  to  stum- 
ble and  tumble ;  but  not  she.  She 
knew  her  business  too  well.  Her 
tout  ensemble,  her  face  reddened 
by  exercise,  her  vigorous  puffing, 
her  belt  flying  in  the  wind,  like 
Mr.  Gough's  coat-tails,  were  too 

Water  to  wash  Travelers'  Feet,      funny  to  resist.     My  risibilities 
exploded  ;  whereat  hers  did  like- 
wise.    I  cheerfully  sat  down,  and  let  her  wash  my  cold  feet  in  warm 
water,  which  being  over,  I  got  up,  entered  the  best  room  in  the  house, 
and  curled  up  under  a  kotatsu. 

We  started  off  the  next  morning  at  eight  o'clock.  We  were  to 
walk  eighteen  miles  before  the  end  of  our  day's  journey  to  Tsuruga,  a 
sea-port  town.  Our  party  prepared  for  the  journey  over  mountain- 
paths  by  taking  off  their  riding  sandals  or  heavy  wooden  clogs,  and 
girding  on  the  feet  a  pair  of  straw  sandals,  which  they  bought  for 
eighty -five  "  cash"  (less  than  one  cent)  per  pair.  For  myself,  a  fine,  large, 


Brinsrim 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN. 


417 


and  very  handsome  norimono,  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  two  men,  was 
provided.  It  was  a  tine,  large  box,  like  a  palanquin,  except  that  the 
pole  by  which  it  rested  on  the  two  men's  shoulders  passed  through 
the  top  instead  of  being  fastened  at  the  centre,  as  in  India.  The  one 
I  rode  in  was  gold-lacquered  without,  and  richly  upholstered  and  pa- 
pered within,  with  neat  curtains  of  bamboo  split  into  fine  threads. 
Once  inside,  there  was  room  to  sit  down.  If  one  does  not  mind  be- 
ing a  little  cramped,  he  can  spend  a  day  comfortably  inside.  For 
high  lords  and  nobles  four  men  are  provided,  and  the  long  supporting 
bar  is  slightly  curved  to  denote  high  rank.  I  entered  the  norimono 
in  the  presence  of  the  entire  village,  including  the  small  boys.  The 


V 


A  Norimono. 

ride  of  a  few  hundred  yards  sufficed  for  me.  The  sights  were  too 
novel  to  miss  seeing  any  thkig,  and  so  I  got  out  and  walked.  I  was 
not  sorry  for  the  change.  The  air  was  bracing,  the  scenery  inspiring. 

A  double  pleasure  rewards  the  pioneer  who  is  the  first  to  penetrate 
into  the  midst  of  a  new  people.  Besides  the  rare  exhilaration  felt  in 
treading  soil  virgin  to  alien  feet,  it  acts  like  mental  oxygen  to  look 
upon  and  breathe  in  a  unique  civilixation  like  that  of  Japan.  To  feel 
that  for  ages  millions  of  one's  own  race  have  lived  and  loved,  enjoyed 
and  suffered  and  died,  living  the  fullness  of  life,  yet  without  the  relig- 
ion, laws,  customs,  food,  dress,  and  culture  which  seem  to  us  to  be  the 
vitals  of  our  social  existence,  is  like  walking  through  a  living  Pompeii. 

Our  path  wound  up  from  the  village  to  a  considerable  height.  On 
both  sides  of  the  mountain  path  and  pass  the  ground  was  terraced 


418  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

into  rice -fields,  which  were  irrigated  by  the  stream  that  is  usually 
found  flowing  between  two  hills.  During  the  day  we  went  through 
valleys  of  ravishing  beauty.  In  them  the  ground  was  divided  into  ir- 
rigated rice-fields,  which  were  now  bare,  and  dotted  with  the  clumps 
of  rice-stubble  as  it  was  left  when  cut  by  the  reaper's  hook.  At  in- 
tervals were  small  villages,  surrounded  by  the  universal  and  ever-beau- 
tiful bamboo.  On  both  sides  of  the  valley,  bold  hills,  thickly  clothed 
with  pine  and  fir  and  solemn  evergreen,  rose  to  the  clouds.  And 
all  along,  with  a  frequency  like  that  of  mile-stones,  stood  the  kosatsu 
(edict -boards),  on  which  hung  the  slander  and  prohibition  against 
Christianity.  We  were  still  in  the  province  of  Omi. 

Frequently  along  the  road  I  observed  large,  square  posts  of  new 
wood,  plentifully  ornamented  with  Chinese  characters,  which  marked 
the  boundaries  of  the  province,  subdivision,  or  district.  At  noon  we 
crossed  the  frontier  of  Omi  and  entered  the  province  of  Eehizen,  and 
at  two  o'clock  that  division  of  it  which  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Fukui  Han.  Being  now  within  the  dominions  of  "  our  prince," 
we  expected  evidences  of  it,  in  which  we  were  not  disappointed.  At 
every  village  the  nanushi,  or  head-men,  arrayed  in  their  best  dress, 
came  out  to  meet  us,  presenting  their  welcomes  and  congratulations. 
Sometimes  they  would  salute  us  half  a  mile  or  more  from  the  village, 
and  after  welcoming  us,  bowing  literally  to  the  earth,  they  would  has- 
ten on  before  and  conduct  us  through  the  village  to  the  extreme  limit, 
and  there  take  their  adieu,  with  bows,  kneelings,  and  sayonara.  To- 
ward evening,  having  lunched  and  rested  two  hours  at  noon,  we  arrived 
near  Tsuruga,  and  were  met  by  the  officers  of  the  city,  and  conducted 
to  the  best  hotel  in  the  place. 

My  eight  companions  were  unusually  merry  that  night,  and,  to  add 
to  their  enjoyment,  Melpomene,  Terpsichore,  and  Hebe,  or,  in  other 
words,  two  geishas,  were  present  to  dispense  music,  dancing,  and  sake. 
Several  of  the  samurai  danced  what  might  be  called  stag-dances,  from 
their  novelty  and  vigor.  I  occupied  myself  in  making  notes  of  tlie 
day's  trip.  Iwabuchi  had  pointed  out  many  places  of  historic  inter- 
est, the  lore  of  which  I  was  not  then,  but  was  afterward,  fully  able  to 
appreciate.  I  found  in  the  room  I  occupied  a  work  in  Japanese,  treat- 
ing of  the  Opium  War  in  China,  with  vivid  illustrations  of  the  foreign 
steamers,  artillery,  and  tactics.  It  was  well  thumbed  and  dog-eared, 
having  evidently  been  read  and  reread  many  times.  It  had  been  pub- 
lished in  Japan  shortly  after  the  war  in  China,  and  prepared  the  Japa- 
nese mind  for  what  they  had  to  expect. 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN.  419 

Tsuruga  expects  to  become  a  great  city  some  day.*  It  is  to  be  the 
terminus  of  a  railroad  from  Ozaka  and  Kioto.  A  canal  is  to  connect 
its  harbor  with  Lake  Biwa — a  scheme  first  proposed  by  Taira  Shige- 
mori,  son  of  Kiyomori,  in  the  twelfth  century.  It  is  to  become  the 
largest  and  wealthiest  port  on  the  west  coast.  I  think  there  is  good 
ground  for  these  hopes.  Its  geographical  position  is  every  thing  to  be 
desired,  and  its  harbor  the  best  on  the  west  coast.f 

We  made  an  early  start.  We  were  to  rcacb  Takefu,  a  town  about 
seventeen  miles  distant.  We  first  walked  down  to  the  sea-shore,  where 
I  caught  a  splendid  view  of  Tsuruga  harbor,  two-thirds  of  a  circle  of 
blue  sea  within  rocky  and  timbered  headlands.  On  the  sandy  strand 
were  a  dozen  or  more  junks  beached  for  the  winter,  propped  and  cov- 
ered with  straw  mats.  In  one  or  two  tall  sheds  made  of  poles  and 
mats  were  the  keels  and  frames  of  new  junks,  with  new  timber  and 
copper  lying  near,  and  one  nearly  finished.  They  were  all  on  the  an- 
cient model.  Emerging  into  the  road  to  Fukui,  we  came  to  the  stone 
portal  of  a  large  Shinto  temple.  J  Within  a  grove  of  grand  old  giant 
firs  stood  the  simple  shrine,  without  image,  idol,  or  picture,  save  only 
the  strips  of  white  paper  and  the  polished  mirrors.  My  guards  stop- 
ped, clapped  their  hands  three  times,  placed  them  reverently  together, 
bowed  their  heads,  and  uttered  a  prayer.  The  act  was  as  touching  as 
it  was  simple. 

About  seven-eighths  of  Echizen  is  mountain-land,  and  to-day  was 

*  Tsuruga  was  made  the  capital  of  Tsuruga  ken,  including  the  province  of 
Echizen,  in  1873;  thus  becoming  an  official  scat,  leaving  Fukui  in  the  back- 
ground. 

t  A  Japanese  gazetteer  or  cyclopedia,  in  describing  a  city,  is  especially  minuto 
in  regard  to  the  history  and  traditions.  It  describes  fully  the  temples,  shrines, 
customs,  and  local  peculiarities,  and  usually  winds  up  by  recounting  the  "fa- 
mous scenes"  or  "natural  beauties"  of  the  place,  whether  it  be  Kioto  or  Fukui. 
Thus  the  "  Echizen  Gazetteer  "  says :  "  The  ten  fine  scenes  ('sceneries,'  as  the  be- 
ginners in  English  put  it)  of  Tsuruga  are — 1st,  the  red  plum-trees  in  the  temple 
grounds  of  Kei ;  3d,  the  full  moon  at  Amatsutsu ;  3d,  the  white  sails  of  the  return- 
ing junks  seen  from  Kiomidzu ;  4th,  the  evening  bells  at  Kanegasaki ;  5th,  the  tea- 
houses at  Iro  ;  6th,  the  dragon's  light  (phosphorescence)  on  the  sea-shore;  7th. 
the  verdure  at  Kushikawa;  8th,  the  evening  snow  on  Nosaka;  9th,  the  travelers 
on  Michinokuchi ;  10th,  the  evening  glow  at  Yasudama." 

I  The  gods  worshiped  at  these  shrines  are — Jingu  Kogo,  mother  of  Ojin  Ten- 
no  ;  Ukemochi,  the  goddess  of  cereals  and  food  ;  Yamato  Dake,  conqueror  of  the 
Kuanto;  Ojin  Tenno,  or  Hachiman,  god  of  war;  Takenouchi,  prime  minister  of 
Jingu;  and  Tamahime,  sister  of  the  latter.  The  large  granite  tori-i  was  erected 
by  Hideyasu,  first  of  the  Tokugawa  daimios  of  Echizen.  Near  the  city  are  the 
ruins  of  old  fortifications  of  Nitta  Yoshisada,  and  Asakura  Yoshikagi,  the  foe  of 
Nobunaga. 


420  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

one  of  climbing.  The  snow  lay  eight  and  ten  feet  deep  on  each  side 
the  hard  line  of  path.  The  path  itself  was  only  such  as  is  made  by 
the  tramping  of  human  feet  and  by  horses.  We  were  now  in  full 
force — foreigner,  interpreter,  guards,  servants,  and  porters,  about  forty 
of  whom  carried  our  baggage.  We  were  strung  out  over  the  white 
landscape  in  Indian  file,  numbering  fifty -four  persons  in  all.  One 
coolie,  the  pioneer,  had  a  can  of  kerosene  on  his  back ;  another,  my 
wraps  and  hand-baggage ;  another  had  his  head  under  the  seat  of  a 
rocking-chair,  the  space  between  the  rockers  being  well  packed.  Oth- 
ers bore  miscellaneous  packages.  When  a  box  was  too  heavy  for  one 
man,  it  was  slung  on  a  pole  and  carried  by  two.  The  valleys  were  ev- 
idently, judging  from  their  tracks,  well  stocked  with  rabbits  and  foxes, 
and  in  the  rice-fields  flocks  of  fat  wild  geese  and  ducks  offered  tempt- 
ing marks,  on  which  one  of  the  samurai,  who  had  a  revolver,  spent 
much  vain  powder.  The  white  heron  were  plentiful,  and  occasionally 
we  saw  the  huge  storks,  six  feet  high,  stalking  along  the  streams.  On 
the  hills  where  the  path  wound  through  the  woods  the  snow  had  been 
disturbed  by  the  wild  boar.  We  stopped  to  rest  at  the  house  of  a 
noted  hunter,  on  whose  floor  lay  three  huge  carcasses  and  tusked  heads. 
He  showed  us  his  long,  light  spear,  with  which  he  had  transfixed  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  wild  hogs  that  winter.  It  had  a  triangular, 
bayonet -like  blade.  The  village  bought  the  meat  of  him,  and  what 
he  had  left  over  he  sent  to  Tsuruga  and  Fukui.  Monkeys  were  also 
plentiful  in  the  woods. 

In  all  the  villages  the  people  were  on  the  lookout  for  the  coming 
foreigner.  The  entire  population,  from  wrinkled  old  men  and  stout 
young  clowns,  to  hobbling  hags,  girls  with  red  cheeks  and  laughing 
black  eyes,  and  toddling  children,  were  out.  The  women,  babies,  and 
dogs  seemed  especially  eager  to  get  a  sight  of  the  to-jin,  and  see  what 
3ort  of  an  animal  he  was.  The  village  houses  were  built  of  a  frame  of 
wood,  with  wattles  of  bamboo  smeared  with  mud,  and  having  a  thatch- 
ed roof.  Within,  the  floor  was  raised  a  foot  or  so  above  the  ground, 
and  covered  with  mats.  When  the  rooms  had  partitions,  they  were 
made  of  a  frame  of  wood  covered  with  paper,  and  made  to  slide  in 
grooves.  In  the  middle  of  the  floor  was  the  fire-place.  Frcrn  the 
ceiling  hung  pot-hooks,  pots,  and  kettles — one  for  tea,  one  for  rice, 
another  for  radishes,  beans,  or  bean -cheese.  In  these  villages  good- 
nature and  poverty  seemed  to  be  the  chief  characteristics  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  old  faces  were  smoke-dried  and  wrinkled,  and  the  skin 
seemed  to  be  tanned  on  the  inside  by  long  swilling  of  strong  tea. 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN. 


421 


Amidst  this  monotony  of  ug- 
liness, I  was  glad  to  see  the 
merry,  twinkling  black  eyes, 
and  red  cheeks  of  pretty  girls, 
and  the  sweet  faces  of  chil- 
dren, rosy  and  chubby,  spite 
of  dirt  and  slush,  as  they 
paused  in  their  work  of  mak- 
ing snow-men,  to  gaze  upon 
the  stranger.  Most  of  the 
people,  in  addition  to  the 
usual  Japanese  dress,  wore 
long,  high  boots  of  plaited 
straw,  admirable  for  walking 
in  the  snow,  called  "  Echizen 
boots,"  the  worth  of  which  I 
proved. 

Our  route  for  the  next  day 
lay  throuh   a   lovel     valle 


lay  through  a  lovely  valley  ffi**+£*'*^^*&^f^'S's'-  v 
formed  by  a  river.  The  rate  I  *x*  "^v.^V;**.'*-*'  ".<-v:'.' 
of  traveling  had  not  been  se-  Village  in 

vere.  The  record  of  each  day  was  very  much  like  a  page  of  the  "Anab- 
asis," and  from  two  to  four  of  Xenophon's  parasangs  were  our  daily 
journey.  Long  before  I  arrived  at  my  place  of  destination,  I  found  the 
way  the  Japanese  have  of  doing  things  was  not  that  of  America,  and  that 
life  in  Japan  would  be  a  vastly  different  thing  from  the  split-second  life 
in  New  York.  It  took  us  three  days  and  a  half  to  do  what  I  afterward 
accomplished  easily,  by  the  same  means,  in  a  day  and  a  quarter.  That 
large  bodies  move  slowly  is  true,  to  an  exasperating  extent,  in  Japan. 
A  journey  of  ten  Japanese  samurai  means  unlimited  sleep,  smoking  of 
pipes,  drinking  of  tea,  and  drowsy  lounging.  A  little  more  tea,  one 
more  smoke,  and  the  folding  of  the  legs  to  sit,  is  the  cry  of  the  Japa- 
nese yakunin.  Such  things  at  first  were  torture,  and  a  threat  of  in- 
sanity to  me,  when  I  found  that  time  had  no  value,  and  was  infinitely 
cheaper  than  dirt  in  Japan.  Finally,  I  became,  under  protest,  used  to 
it.  On  this  occasion  I  rather  enjoyed  it.  My  eyes  were  not  full  of 
seeing  yet,  and,  though  impatient  to  reach  my  field  of  labor,  yet  this 
was  the  grand  manner  of  traveling,  and  best  for  heart  and  eye  and 
memory.  Besides,  it  would  be  undignified  to  make  haste  in  the 
prince's  own  dominions,  and  the  porters,  under  their  heavy  loads, 


422  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

must  not  be  hurried.  It  also  gave  me  opportunity  to  learn  from  my 
interpreter  every  thing  of  historic,  local,  and  legendary  interest,  and 
thus  fit  myself  to  appreciate  what  I  afterward  had  read  to  me  from 
the  "  Gazetteer  of  Echizen." 

Twelve  miles  from  Fukui,  I  found  an  officer  of  the  daimio,  who  had 
been  sent  to  meet  and  welcome  me.  After  being  introduced,  he  of- 
fered me  presents  of  a  duck,  and  a  box,  handsomely  wrapped  in  white 
paper,  and  tied  in  cord  of  red  and  white,  and  filled  with  gorgeous- 
ly colored  red,  green,  and  yellow  sweetmeats.  We  were  to  rest  at 
Takefu  for  the  night,  and  next  morning  take  horses  and  ride  to  Fu- 
kui. Meanwhile  there  was  to  be  a  grand  dinner.  Iwabuchi  and  I 
sallied  out  to  see  the  town. 

It  was  a  poor  place.  It  had  formerly  been  of  more  importance, 
and  named  Fuchiu,*  but  had  declined.  It  numbered  probably  twelve 
thousand  people,  having  thirty -four  streets,  and  two  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  forty-nine  houses,  and,  being  a  post-relay  town,  twenty- 
five  houses  were  kept  for  hire  to  travelers.  The  streets  were  broad, 
and  a  stream  of  water  flowed  between  stone  banks  in  the  middle  of 
the  street.  There  were  many  iron -workers;  and  broad  knives,  hoes, 
scissors,  the  rude  plow-coulters,  and  the  most  useful  articles  of  Japa- 
nese domestic  cutlery  were  special  productions.  One  of  Nobunaga'a 
most  famous  arrow-makers  came  from  Takefu.  Macaroni  and  vermi- 
celli, hemp  and  hempen  cloth,  were  also  staples.  The  Government 
edicts  were  posted  up  conspicuously  on  a  stone  platform,  with  impos- 
ing roofed  frame  of  substantial  timber.  Two  or  three  temples,  with 
spacious  grounds  and  lofty  trees,  the  stone  path  flanked  by  two  im- 
mense stone  or  bronze  lanterns,  were  among  the  adornments  of  the 
place. 

Familiarity,  like  a  leaven,  was  breeding  contempt,  as  I  began  to  see 
what  actual  Japanese  life  was.  I  thanked  God  I  was  not  of  the  race 
and  soil.  Was  it  Pharisaical  ? 

We  returned  to  the  hotel — not  very  inviting  without,  but  attractive 
within.  In  two  fine  large  rooms  brilliant  screens  of  gold  and  silver 
spangled  paper,  or  depicted  with  battle-scenes,  such  as  the  destruction 
of  the  Mongol  fleet  in  1281,  and  the  capture  of  Kamakura  by  Nitta 

*  Fuchiu,  was  formerly  the  general  name  of  the  capital  of  a  province.  The 
word  means  "interior  of  the  government."  After  the  Restoration,  in  1868,  the 
mikado's  govermneiit  changed  the  names  of  the  many  towns  all  over  the  empire, 
named  Fuchiu,  among  which  were  those  in  Echizen  and  Suruga,  the  latter  being 
called  Shidzuoka  (peaceful  hill). 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN.  423 

in  1333,  and  of  Kioto  court  life,  were  ranged  along  the  wall,  and  bra- 
ziers of  figured  bronze  shed  a  genial  glow  through  the  mellow-lighted  ' 
room.  They  had  placed  a  new-made  table  for  the  foreigner  to  eat  by 
himself.  The  officers,  now  twelve  in  number,  and  the  chief  men  of 
the  town  sat  round  the  floor  in  an  oval.  Four  girls,  all  of  them  good- 
looking,  brought  in,  not  the  dishes,  but  each  time  a  tableful  of  dishes, 
and  set  one  before  each  guest.  Forthwith  the  meal  began. 

On  fourteen  little  tables,  each  a  foot  square,  four  inches  high,  made 
of  wood  lacquered  black,  and  lustrous  as  jet,  were  as  many  pairs  of 
chopsticks  made  of  new,  clean  wood,  ready  bifurcated  but  unsplit,  to 
show  they  had  not  been  used.  The  maids  attended,  with  full  tubs  of 
steaming  rice  and  pots  of  tea,  to  replenish  the  rapidly  emptied  bowls. 
Fish,  boiled  eggs,  lobster,  and  various  made-dishes  were  served  on  enor- 
mous porcelain  plates  the  size  of  the  full  moon.  The  nimble  tapering 
fingers  of  the  laughing  girls  handed  out  their  contents.  Then  came 
the  warm  sake.  The  tiny  cups  circulated  around,  the  girls  acting  as 
Hebcs.  Smoking  and  story-telling  followed  after  the  candles  were 
brought  in.  In  the  evening,  after  each  had  enjoyed  his  hot  bath,  the 
quilts  were  spread,  and  the  top-knotted  heads  were  laid  on  their  wood- 
en pillows  and  paper  pillow-cases,  and  sleep,  dreams,  and  snores  had  at- 
tained their  maximum  of  perfection  before  nine  o'clock.  In  my  dream, 
I  was  at  home  in  America,  but  failed  to  catch  the  train  to  get  back  to 
Japan. 

Twelve  horses,  saddled  and  bridled,  were  ready  next  morning,  which 
was  the  4th  of  March.  After  the  last  pipe  had  been  smoked,  the  last 
cup  of  tea  drank,  and  the  last  joke  cracked,  with  swords  thrust  in  gir- 
dle, wooden  helmet  tied  on  head  under  the  chin,  and  straw  sandals  in 
stirrup,  the  cavalcade  moved.  We  started  off  slowly  through  the  town 
and  crowded  streets,  and  out  into  the  valley  toward  Fukui.  It  was  a 
day  of  wind,  light  showers,  and  fitful  flakes  of  snow,  alternating  with 
rifts  of  sunlight  that  lent  unearthly  grandeur  to  the  wrinkled  hills.  A 
brisk  ride  of  two  hours  brought  us  within  sight  of  Fukui.  We  were 
in  a  level  plain  between  two  walls  of  mountains.  Just  as  Nakamura 
cried  out,  "  Yonder  is  Fukui,"  a  burst  of  sunshine  threw  floods  of 
golden  glory  over  the  city. 

I  shall  never  forget  my  emotions,  in  that  sudden  first  glimpse  of  the 
city  embowered  in  trees,  looming  across  the  plain,  amidst  the  air  laden 
with  snow-flakes,  and  seen  in  the  light  reflected  from  storm-clouds. 
There  were  no  spires,  golden-vaned ;  no  massive  pediments,  facades,  or 
grand  buildings  such  as  strike  the  eye  on  beholding  a  city  in  the  West 


424  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

ern  world.  I  had  formed  sonie  conception  of  Fukui  while  in  Ameri- 
ca :  something  vaguely  grand,  mistily  imposing — I  knew  not  what.  I 
now  saw  simply  a  dark,  vast  array  of  low-roofed  houses,  colossal  tem- 
ples, gables,  castle-towers,  tufts  of  bamboo,  and  groves  of  trees.  This 
was  Fukui. 

As  usual,  officers  came  out  at  the  city  limits  to  meet  us.  We  lode 
through  the  streets,  thronged  with  eagerly  curious  people.  The  thor- 
oughfares were  those  of  an  ordinary  Japanese  town,  not  of  my  ideal 
Fukui.  In  a  few  minutes  we  crossed  a  bridge  over  a  river,  suddenly 
stopped,  entered  the  gate  of  a  handsome  court-yard  lined  with  trees, 
and  before  the  door  of  a  fine  large  old  house  dismounted  and  entered. 
I  was  welcomed  by  several  officers,  all  in  their  best  silks,  swords,  san- 
dals, and  top-knots,  with  bows,  and  such  awkward  but  hearty  hand- 
shakings as  men  unused  to  it  might  be  supposed  to  achieve. 

I  then  entered  my  future  abode.  It  was  a  Japanese  house,  foreign- 
ized  by  American  comforts.  All  the  partitions  and  windows  were  of 
glass.  A  Peekskill  stove,  with  pipe  and  fire,  was  up,  and  glowing  a 
welcome.  I  found  a  handsome  bedstead,  wash-stand,  and  good  furni- 
ture. How  did  all  this  come  here  ?  I  soon  understood  it,  for  one 
merry-eyed  officer  told  me,  in  broken  English,  "  I  been  in  New  York. 
I  understand.  You  like  ?"  I  immediately  seized  the  speaker's  hand, 
and  made  him  my  friend.  Sasaki  (well  named  Tree  of  Help)  was  aft- 
erward my  right-hand  man.  Then  followed  the  dinner.  This  feature 
of  foreign  civilization  was  specially  attractive  to  the  Japanese.  To 
sit  at  a  huge  table  on  chairs,  with  plates,  knives,  forks,  casters,  and 
epergne  ;  to  experience  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  soup,  fish,  vege- 
tables, flesh,  and  fowl,  with  the  glittering  gastronomic  tools ;  to  tickle 
the  palate  and  gorge  the  stomach  with  meat  and  wine  and  luscious 
sweets,  seemed  to  them  a  sure  proof  of  the  superiority  of  foreign  civil- 
ization. Eight  of  us  sat  down  to  a  foreign  dinner  of  manifold  courses 
of  fluid  and  solid  fare,  my  own  cook  having  arrived  in  Fukui  the  day 
before.  The  officers  left  me,  and  I  spent  the  day  in  unpacking  trunks, 
and  adorning  my  room  so  as  to  give  an  American  home-look  to  my 
juarters. 

In  the  evening  I  had  a  call  from  an  officer  who  came  to  pay  his  re- 
spects to  the  foreign  instructor.  I  invited  him  to  stay  to  supper. 
He  did  so.  Fortunately  he  understood  a  little  English,  having  spent 
some  time  in  Yokohama.  He  gave  me  much  useful  information.  He 
invited  me  to  make  his  home  a  place  of  daily  resort.  He  offered  to 
assist  me  in  the  choice  of  a  good  servant,  a  good  horse,  the  best  flow 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  JAPAN. 


425 


ers,  pictures,  curiosities,  and  whatever  I  might  wish  to  buy.  He  also 
taught  me  the  value,  symbols,  and  denominations  of  the  local  paper 
money  of  Fukui.  I  was  already  familiar  with  the  national  kinsatsu 

(money  cards).  A  fac-simile  of  a  nishiu 
piece,  worth  about  twelve  cents,  is  given 
in  the  cut.  The  ten  and  one  rio  (dollar), 
and  bu  (quarter)  pieces  are  much  larger. 
The  dragons  with  horns,  hair,  scales,  claws, 
and  mustaches,  jewel  and  mikado  crests, 
are  very  conspicuous.  The  Chinese  char- 
acters read  "  Money,  nishiu,"  and  "  Mim 
Bu  Sho,  Currency  Office." 

For  centuries  past,  every  great  daimio 
has  issued  paper  money  current  only  in 
his  han.  There  are  over  one  hundred 
local  varieties  in  the  empire,  of  varied  col- 
ors, values,  and  sizes.  The  Fukui  denom- 
inations were  one -tenth,  one -fifth,  one- 
half  :  one,  three,  five,  ten,  and  fifty  cents. 
The  designs  on  them  are  the  God  of 
Wealth,  the  treasure-ship  which  every  Jap- 
anese hopes  to  have  "  come  in,"  the  pile 
of  kobans  (oval  gold  coins)  which  he  ex- 
pects to  "  raise,"  bags  of  rice — the  stand- 
issue  of  ard  of  value — dragons,  flowers,  birds,  and 

the  zoology  of  the  zodiac. 
The  officer  further  said  I  must  have  relaxation.     He  offered  to 
show  me  the  fairest  and  brightest  maiden,  whom  I  might  bring  to  my 
house,  and  make  my  playmate.     I  thanked  him,  and  accepted  all  his 
offers  but  the  last. 

The  night  was  clear  and  cold.  The  same  familiar  stars  glittered 
overhead  as  those  seen  in  the  home  sky.  The  wild  geese  sailed  in  the 
bright  air,  the  moon  bathing  their  plumage  in  silver.  The  temple  bell 
boomed  solemnly  as  I  lay  down  to  rest. 


Fac-simile  of  Kinsatsu. 
1869. 


426  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPUOS. 


VIII. 

RECEPTION  BY  THE  DAIMIO.—MY  STUDENTS. 

THE  next  day  was  a  Sabbath  in  a  Sabbathless  land.  I  awoke  to 
find  a  perfect  day — a  heaven  of  cloudless  blue,  and  every  thing  quiet 
and  still.  How  should  I  spend  Sunday  here  ?  There  were  no  church- 
bells  pealing,  no  church,  no  pews,  no  pulpit,  no  street -cars,  no  pave- 
ment, no  Sunday-school,  no  familiar  friends.  I  walked  to  the  gate 
of  the  court-yard  and  looked  out  upon  the  street.  Business  and  traf- 
fic were  going  on  as  usual.  The  samurai  on  clogs,  in  his  silk  and 
crested  coat,  swords  in  girdle  and  cue  on  clean -shorn  crown,  was 
walking  on,  in  his  dignity,  as  the  lord  of  society.  The  priest,  in  his 
flowing  crape  and  brocade  collar,  with  shaven  head,  and  rosary  on 


On  the  Tow-path.    (Hokusai.) 

wrist,  was  on  his  way  to  the  temple.  The  merchant,  in  his  plain, 
wadded  cotton  clothes,  tight  breeches,  and  white  -  thonged  sandals  of 
straw,  was  thinking  of  his  bargains.  The  laborer,  half  naked  and 
half  covered  in  the  fabrics  of  Eden,  in  sandals  of  rice-straw,  tunic,  and 
hat,  making  himself  a  fulcrum  for  his  scale-like  method  of  carrying 
heavy  burdens,  passed  staggering  by.  A  file  of  his  brethren,  with 
hats  in  the  shape  of  inverted  wash-bowls,  engaged  on  some  heavy  work 
at  the  river-side,  were  resting  on  a  log,  looking,  in  the  distance,  like  a 
row  of  exaggerated  toad-stools.  The  seller  of  fish,  vegetables,  oil,  and 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  DAIMlO.—MY  STUDENTS.  427 

bean-cheese,  each  uttering  his  trade-cry,  ambled  on.  On  the  opposite 
shore,  with  ropes  over  their  shoulders,  a  gang  of  straw-clad  men — not 
mules — were  towing  a  boat  up  stream,  against  the  current. 

I  returned  indoors.  Breakfast  over,  I  sought  the  companionship  of 
my  dear,  silent  friends,  which  I  had  brought  with  me,  and  which  had 
not  yet  been  arranged,  though  !•  had  already  made  my  plans  for  a 
book-case.  It  was  about  half-past  nine,  when  the  gate  at  the  end  of 
the  court-yard  opened,  and  in  rode  Nakamura,  my  guard  of  yesterday. 
Behind  him  came  three  of  the  daimio's  grooms,  one  of  them  leading 
a  gorgeously  caparisoned  horse.  The  grooms  were  dressed  in  only  one 
garment,  a  loose  blue  coat  coming  to  a  little  below  the  hips,  with 
socks  on  his  feet,  and  the  usual  white  loin-cloth  around  his  waist. 
On  the  back  of  his  coat  was  the  crest  of  his  prince.  The  horse  was 
the  most  richly  dressed.  It  was  decked  as  if  for  a  tournament  or 
ball.  Its  tail  was  incased  in  a  long  bag  of  figured  blue  silk,  which 
was  tied  at  the  root  with  red  silk  cord  and  tassels.  The  hair  of  the 
mane  and  top-knot  was  collected  into  a  dozen  or  more  tufts  bound 
round  with  white  silk,  and  resembling  so  many  brushes  or  pompons. 
The  saddle  was  an  elaborate  piece  of  furniture,  lacquered  and  gilded 
with  the  crests  of  Tokugawa.  The  saddle-cloths  and  flaps  were  of 
corrugated  leather,  stamped  in  gold.  The  stirrups  were  as  large  as 
shovels,  and  the  rider,  removing  his  sandals  when  he  mounted,  rested 
the  entire  soles  of  his  feet  in  them.  The  material  was  bronze,  orna- 
mented with  a  mosaic  of  silver  and  gold.  The  bridle  was  a  scarf  of 
silk,  and  the  bit  and  halter  different  from  any  I  had  seen  elsewhere. 
From  the  saddle,  crupper,  and  halter  depended  silken  cords  and  tassels. 
Altogether,  it  reminded  me  of  one  of  the  steeds  on  the  Field  of  the 
Cloth  of  Gold.  The  horse  had  been  sent  to  convey  me  to  meet  the 
prince  and  his  chief  officers,  who  were  to  receive  me  in  the  main  room 
of  the  Han  Cho,  OB  Government  Office.  Nakamura  was  to  escort  me, 
and  Iwabuchi  was  to  be  present,  to  speak  for  us. 

AVe  mounted  and  rode  along  the  wide  street  facing  the  castle-moat, 
which  was  lined  on  one  side  by  the  yashikis  of  the  chief  men  of  the 
clan,  and  called  Daimio  Avenue.  A  few  minutes'  ride  brought  us  to 
one  of  the  gates  called  Priests'  Gate,  and,  riding  inside  of  another  wall 
and  moat,  we  reached  the  main  entrance  to  the  Han  Cho,  and  dis- 
mounted. The  gate  was  the  same  as  that  seen  in  front  of  all  large 
yashikis  and  official  places  in  Japan,  like  two  massive  crosses  with 
their  arms  joined  end  to  end.  We  passed  up  the  broad  stone  path 
through  a  yard  covered  with  pebbles.  Before  the  door  was  a  large 


428  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

raised  portico  or  vestibule.  Kneeling  pages  waited  to  receive  us,  and 
an  officer  in  rustling  silk  came  out  to  welcome  us. 

We  removed  our  shoes  and  entered.  Passing  along  a  corridor  of 
soft  and  scrupulously  clean  mats,  we  reached  the  hall  of  audience,  into 
which  we  were  ushered  with  due  ceremony.  The  pages  and  attend- 
ants kneeled  down,  while  the  daimio  and  his  six  ministers  rose  to  re- 
ceive us.  Tables,  chairs,  and  hand  -  shakings  were  new  things  then, 
yet  they  were  there.  I  advanced  and  bowed  to  the  prince,  who  ap- 
proached me  and  extended  his  hand,  uttering  what  I  afterward  learned 
were  words  of  welcome.  After  shaking  hands,  he  put  an  autograph 
letter  in  my  hand.  Iwabuchi  from  the  first  had  fallen  down  on  his 
hands,  knees,  and  face,  and  talked  with  uplifted  eyes,  I  was  next  in- 
troduced to  his  long-named  high  retainers,  and  then  we  all  sat  down 
to  the  table.  It  was  piled  up  with  tall  pyramids  of  half -peeled 
oranges  and  sliced  sponge-cake — the  usual  orthodox  Japanese  refresh- 
ments. In  the  centre  was  a  huge  bouquet,  composed  entirely  of  twigs 
of  plum  blossoms  and  the  steely,  silver-glossy  shoots  of  a  wild  plant, 
surrounded  at  the  base  with  camellias  of  many  tints,  both  single  and 
double.  The  little  pages — pretty  boys  of  ten  or  twelve — brought  u& 
tiny  cups  of  tea  in  metal  sockets.  As  we  lifted  out  the  cups,  they 
bowed  low,  and  slid  away. 

The  prince  and  his  ministers  handed  me  their  cards,  imposing  slips, 
of  white  paper,  inscribed  with  their  names  and  titles  in  Chinese  char- 
acters. They  were  as  follows : 

Matsudaira  Mochiaki,  Governor  of  the  Fukui  Han ;  Ogasawara 
Morinori,  Daisanji  (Great  Minister)  ;  Murata  Ujihisa,  Daisanji  (Great 
Minister) ;  Sembon  Hisanobu  (Vice-great  Minister) ;  Otani  (Minister) ; 
Omiya  Sadakiyo  (Chamberlain). 

Then  followed  a  lively  conversation,  which  kept  Iwabuchi's  two 
tongues  busy  for  nearly  an  hour.  Icy  etiquette  melted  into  good-hu- 
mor, and  good -humor  flowed  into  fun.  At  the  end  of  that  time  we 
had  made  the  mutual  discovery  that  we  could  get  along  together  very 
well.  American  freedom  and  Japanese  ease  made  strangers  friends.  Ed- 
ucation and  culture  easily  bridge  the  gulf  that  lies  between  two  races, 
religions,  and  civilizations.  I  felt  perfectly  at  home  in  the  presence  of 
these  courtly  and  polished  gentlemen,  and  an  hour  passed  very  pleasantly. 

The  daimio's  autograph  letter  ran  as  follows : 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  that  the  President  of  your  coun- 
try is  in  good  health. 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  DAIMIO.—MY  STUDENTS.  429 

"I greatly  rejoice  and  am  obliged  to  you  that  you  have  arrived  so 
promptly  from  so  great  distance  over  seas  and  mountains,  to  teach  the 
sciences  to  the  youth  of  Fukui. 

"Concerning  matters  connected  with  the  school  and  students,  the 
officers  in  charge  of  education  will  duly  consult  you. 

"  As  Fukui  is  a  secluded  place,  you  will  be  inconvenienced  in  many 
respects.  Whenever  you  have  need  of  any  thing,  please  make  your 
wants  known  without  ceremony. 

"  MATSUDAIRA,  Fukui  Han-Chiji" 

These  words  struck  the  key-note  of  my  whole  reception  in  Fukui. 
During  the  entire  year  of  my  residence,  unceasing  kindnesses  were 
showered  upon  me.  From  the  prince  and  officers  to  the  students, 
citizens,  and  the  children,  who  learned  to  know  me  and  welcome  me 
with  smiles  and  bows  and  "  Good-morning,  teacher,"  I  have  nothing 
to  record  but  respect,  consideration,  sympathy,  and  kindness.  My  eyes 
were  opened.  I  needed  no  revolver,  nor  were  guards  necessary.  I 
won  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  among  the  happiest  memories  are 
those  of  Fukui. 

Among  those  whom  I  learned  to  love  was  the  little  son  of  the  dai- 
mio,  a  sprightly,  laughing  little  fellow,  four  or  five  years  old,  with  snap- 
ping eyes,  full  of  fun,  and  as  lively 
as  an  American  boy.  Little  Mat- 
sudaira  wore  a  gold-hiltcd  short 
sword  in  his  girdle ;  while  a  lad 
of  thirteen,  his  sword-bearer,  at- 
tended him,  to  carry  the  longer 
badge  of  rank.  His  head  was 
shaved,  except  a  round  space  like 
a  cap,  from  which  a  tiny  cue  pro- 
jected. The  photograph  which 
Ids  father  gave  me  and  the  wood- 
cut do  but  scant  justice  to  the 
exquisitely  delicate  brown  tint 
of  his  skin,  flushed  with  health, 
his  twinkling  black  eyes,  his  rosy 

cheeks,  and  his   arch  ways,  that 

j  \  •  ,i        .1     4.  i  A  Little  Daimio.    (From  a  photograph.) 

convinced  his  mother  that  he  was 

the  most  beautiful  child  ever  born  of  woman.     I  often  met  him  in 
Fukui  and,  later,  in  Tokib.    He  is  to  be  educated  in  the  United  States. 


430  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

As  yet  I  had  seen  little  of  the  city  in  which  I  expected  to  dwell  for 
three  years.  I  had  reached  the  goal  of  my  journeyings.  Hitherto,  in 
all  my  travels,  Fukui  loomed  up  in  my  imagination,  and,  spite  of  my 
actual  experience  of  Japanese  towns,  the  ideal  Fukui  was  a  grand  city. 
All  the  excitement  of  travel  was  now  over,  and  I  was  to  see  the  actual 
Fukui.  I  rode  around  the  castle  circuit,  and  out  into  the  city,  and  for 
a  long  distance  through  its  streets.  I  was  amazed  at  the  utter  pover- 
ty of  the  people,  the  contemptible  houses,  and  the  tumble-down  look 
of  the  city,  as  compared  with  the  trim  dwellings  of  an  American  town. 
I  rode  through  many  streets,  expecting  at  last  to  emerge  into  some 
splendid  avenue.  I  rode  in  vain ;  and,  as  I  rode,  the  scales  fell  from 
my  eyes.  There  was  no  more  excitement  now  to  weave  films  of  gla- 
mour before  my  vision.  I  saw  through  the  achromatic  glasses  of  act- 
uality. I  realized  what  a  Japanese — an  Asiatic  city — was.  All  the 
houses  of  wood,  the  people  poor,  the  streets  muddy,  few  signs  of 
wealth,  no  splendid  shops.  Talk  of  Oriental  magnificence  and  luxu- 
ry !  What  nonsense !  I  was  disgusted.  My  heart  sunk.  A  desper- 
ate fit  of  the  blues  seized  me.  I  returned  home,  to  chew  the  cud  of 
gloomy  reflections. 


Servant  before  his  Master. 

Fukui  was  the  home  of  Kusakabe,  my  former  student,  who  died  in 
New  Brunswick.  His  father  had  heard  of  my  coming.  In  the  after- 
noon he  called  to  sec  me.  A  lacquered  trayful  of  very  fine  oranges, 
on  which  lay  the  peculiarly  folded  paper,  betokening  a  gift,  and  a  slip 
of  paper  written  with  Chinese  characters  —  the  visiting-card  —  was 
handed  me  by  Sahei,  who,  as  usual,  fell  down  on  all  fours,  with  face 
on  his  hands,  as  though  whispering  to  the  floor.  It  was  the  Oriental 
way  of  visiting  with  a  gift  in  the  hand.  He  had  come  to  the  house 
by  way  of  the  rear  instead  of  the  front  gate,  in  token  of  humility  on 


DECEPTION  BY  THE  DA1MIO.-MY  STUDENTS.  431 

his  part  and  honor  to  me.  I  bid  my  servant  usher  him  in,  and  a 
sad-looking  man  of  fifty  or  more  years  entered.  Through  Iwabuchi 
his  story  was  soon  told.  His  wife  had  died  of  grief  on  hearing  of 
her  son  dying  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  Two  very  young  sons 
were  living.  His  other  children,  five  in  number,  were  dead.  His 
house  was  left  unto  him  desolate.  I  gave  him  the  gold  key  of  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  of  Rutgers  College,  into  which  his  son  had 
been  elected,  he  having  stood  at  the  head  of  his  class.  His  father  re- 

O 

ceived  the  emblem  reverently,  lifting  it  to  his  forehead. 

On  the  next  day  my  regular  work  was  to  begin.  Horses  were  sent 
again,  and  I  rode  to  the  school,  a  building  which  was  the  citadel  of 
the  castle,  and  was  once  the  residence  of  the  old  prince.  I  was  met 
by  the  officers  of  the  school  in  the  room  I  was  to  occupy.  On  the 
table  were  sponge-cake,  oranges,  and  plum-blossom  bouquets,  as  usual, 
while  the  omnipresent  tea  was  served,  and  the  tiny  pipes  were  smoked. 
It  was  very  evident  that  the  men  who  had  been  desirous  of  a  teacher 
of  chemistry  had  very  nebulous  ideas  about  what  that  science  was. 
However,  they  were  ready,  with  money  and  patience,  to  furnish  the 
necessary  apparatus  and  lecture  -  room ;  and  our  preliminaries  being 
agreed  on,  I  was  conducted  through  the  other  rooms  to  see  the  sights 
of  the  school. 

I  was  surprised  to  find  it  so  large  and  flourishing.  There  were  in 
all  about  eight  hundred  students,  comprised  in  the  English,  Chinese, 
Japanese,  medical,  and  military  departments.  A  few  had  been  study- 
ing English  for  two  or  three  years,  under  native  teachers  who  had 
been  in  Nagasaki.  In  the  medical  department  I  found  a  good  collec- 
tion of  Dutch  books,  chiefly  medical  and  scientific,  and  a  fine  pair  of 
French  dissection  models,  of  both  varieties  of  the  human  body.  In 
the  military  school  was  a  library  of  foreign  works  on  military  subjects, 
chiefly  in  English,  several  of  which  had  been  translated  into  Japanese. 
In  one  part  of  the  yard  young  men,  book,  diagram,  or  trowel  in  hand, 
were  constructing  a  miniature  earthwork.  The  school  library,  of  En- 
glish and  American  books  —  among  which  were  all  of  Kusakabe's — 
was  quite  respectable.  In  the  Chinese  school  I  found  thousands  of 
boxes,  with  sliding  lids,  filled  with  Chinese  and  Japanese  books.  Sev- 
eral hundred  boys  and  young  men  were  squatted  on  the  floor,  with 
their  teachers,  reading  or  committing  lessons  to  memory,  or  writing 
the  Chinese  characters.  Some  had  already  cut  off  their  top-knots.* 

*  In  one  of  the  popular  street-songs  hawked  about  and  sung  in  the  streets  of 


432 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


Student  burning  the  Midnight  OIL    (Photograph  from  life.) 

At  one  end  of  the  buildings  were  large,  open  places  devoted  to 
physical  exercise.  Several  exhibitions  of  trials  of  skill  in  fencing  and 
wrestling  were  then  made  for  my  benefit.  Six  of  the  students  repair- 
ed to  the  armory  and  put  on  the  defensive  mail,  to  shield  themselves 
in  the  rough  work  before  them — as  Japanese  swords  are  for  use  with 
both  hands,  having  double-handed  hilts  without  guards.  The  foils 
for  fencing  are  made  of  round,  split  bamboo,  and  a  good  blow  will 
make  one  smart,  and  bruise  the  flesh.  So  the  fencing -master  and 
students  first  donned  a  corselet,  with  shoulder-plates  of  hardened  hide 
padded  within,  and  heavily  padded  gauntlets.  On  their  heads  were 
wadded  caps,  having  a  barred  visor  of  stout  iron  grating.  Taking 
their  places,  with  swords  crossed,  they  set  to.  All  the  passes  are  cut 


Fukui,  Ozaka,  and  Tokio,  at  this  time  was  a  stanza  satirizing  the  three  fashions  of 
wearing  the  hair:  in  Western  style;  in  the  fashion  of  the  Osei,  or  ante-feudal  em; 
and  the  orthodox  samurai  mode.  One's  political  proclivities  were  thus  expressed 
by  his  hair.  An  unshaven  head  with  all  the  hair  worn,  but  made  into  a  top-knot 
cue,  marked  the  wearer  as  a  "  mikado -revercncer,"  or  believer  in  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Osei  era.  A  head  shaven  on  the  mid -scalp  and  temples,  with  cue, 
denoted  one  who  clung  to  the  medicTval  ideals  of  feudalism.  A  short-haired 
head,  clipped  and  cueless,  like  a  Westerner,  was  a  sign  of  foreignizing  tenden- 
cies. The  students  led  this  fashion.  The  cut  represents  one  at  night,  studying 
by  the  light  of  his  paper  lantern,  inside  which  is  a  dish  of  oil,  with  pith  wick. 
To  the  right  of  his  little  study-table  are  his  brush-pens,  in  their  usual  porcelain 
receptacle;  and  behind  him  is  his  library  or  book-case,  in  which  the  books  are 
ranged,  with  their  edges,  outward.  In  a  Japanese  library,  the  titles  of  all  works 
are  marked  on  their  edge  as  well  as  the  cover. 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  DAIMW.—MY  STUDENTS.  433 

ting  blows,  thrusting  being  unknown.  Pretty  severe  whacks  arc  given, 
and  some  bruising  done,  spite  of  armor.  Foils  are  used  up  like  lances 
in  a  tournament.  The  young  men  kept  up  the  mimic  battle  for  fif- 
teen minutes,  or  as  long  as  their  wind  and  muscle  lasted,  and  the  se- 
vere ordeal  was  over,  the  victory  being  won  by  those  who  had  given 
what  would  have  been  disabling  wounds  had  swords  been  used. 
Then  followed,  by  another  set  of  students,  the  spear  exercise.  Long 
spears  were  used  first,  and  several  fine  passes  in  carte  and  tierce  were 
made ;  the  offensive  and  defensive  were  tried  alternately,  to  show  me 
all  the  various  thrusts  and  foils  of  the  science. 

The  party  having  short  spears  succeeded,  the  manreuvres  being  dif- 
ferent. So  far  it  was  mere  scientific  display,  no  one  being  severely 
punched.  At  a  signal  of  the  clappers  another  set  took  blunt  spears, 
leaped  into  the  arena,  and  a  sham  fight  began,  the  thrusts  being  real 
lunges  that  knocked  down  and  bruised  the  limbs  or  damaged  the 
breathing  apparatus  of  the  man  put  hors  du  combat  quite  badly.  In 
about  five  minutes  half  the  party  were  down,  and  the  remainder,  all 
crack  lances,  continued  the  battle  for  several  minutes  longer,  with 
some  fine  display,  but  no  mortal  thrusts.  They  were  called  off,  and 
the  men  with  sword  and  cross-spear  began  a  trial  of  skill.  The  cross- 
spear  is  long,  like  a  halberd,  with  a  two-edged  blade  set  at  right  an- 
gles across  it  within  six  inches  from  the  top.  It  is  intended  especially 
for  defense  against  a  sword,  or  a  horse  soldier.  In  this  instance,  one 
or  two  of  the  swordsmen  were  jerked  to  the  floor  or  had  their  helmets 
torn  off ;  while,  on  the  other  side,  the  halberdiers  suffered  by  having 
their  poles  struck  by  severing  blows  of  their  opponents'  swords  or 
actually  received  the  "  pear-splitter  "  stroke  which  was  supposed  to 
cleave  their  skulls. 

Next  followed  wrestling.  Though  a  cold  day  in  winter,  the  stu- 
dents were  dressed  only  in  coarse  sleeveless  coats  of  hemp  cloth.  Ap- 
proaching each  other,  they  clinched  and  threw.  The  object  seemed 
to  be  to  show  how  an  unarmed  man  might  defend  himself.  Wrest- 
lings and  throwings  were  followed  by  sham  exhibitions  that  bore  a 
frightful  resemblance  to  real  choking,  dislocation  of  arm,  wringing  of 
the  neck,  etc.  Throughout  the  exhibition,  the  contestants,  while  at- 
tacking each  other,  uttered  unearthly  yells  and  exclamations.  I  was 
highly  impressed  with  the  display,  and  could  not  fail  to  admire  the 
splendid,  manly  physique  of  many  of  the  lads. 

I  waited  to  see  the  school  dismissed,  that  I  might  see  my  pupils  in 
the  open  air.  At  the  tapping  of  the  clapperless  bell,  the  students  put 


434  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

away  their  brushes,  ink -stones,  and  sticks  of  ink,  wrapped  up  their 
books  and  portable  matter  in  square  pieces  of  silk  or  calico,  making 
neat  bundles ;  put  their  short  swords,  which  lay  at  their  sides,  in  their 
girdles ;  and  each  and  all  bowing  low,  with  face  to  the  floor,  to  their 
teachers,  rose  up  and  went,  first,  to  the  sword -room  to  put  on  their 
long  swords.  This  was  a  large  apartment  near  the  entrance,  in  which 
were  rows  of  numbered  racks,  containing  seven  hundred  or  more 
swords.  Each  student  presented  his  check  or  ticket  of  branded  pine 
wood,  and  his  sword  was  handed  him  by  one  of  the  keepers.  Thrust- 
ing it  in  his  girdle,  and  adjusting  the  pair,  each  scholar  passed  to  the 
clog-room,  where  seven  hundred  pairs  of  clogs  or  sandals  were  stow- 
ed in  numbered  order.  These  set  on  the  ground,  and  the  owner's 
toes  bifurcating  into  the  thong,  the  student  added  a  half-cubit  to  his 
stature,  and  trudged  homeward.  The  scraping  and  clatter  of  hundreds 
of  wooden  clogs  over  the  long  stone  bridge  were  deafening.  All  were 
bare-headed,  with  the  top -knot,  cue,  and  shaven  mid-scalp,  most  of 
them  with  bare  feet  on  their  clogs,  and  with  their  characteristic  dress, 
swagger,  fierce  looks,  bare  skin  exposed  at  the  scalp,  neck,  arms,  calves, 
and  feet,  with  their  murderous  swords  in  their  belts,  they  impressed 
upon  my  memory  a  picture  of  feudalism  I  shall  never  forget. 

As  I  walked,  I  wondered  how  long  it  would  require  to  civilize  such 
"  barbarians."  Here  were  nearly  a  thousand  young  samurai.  What 
was  one  teacher  among  so  many  ?  Could  it  be  possible  that  these 
could  be  trained  to  be  disciplined  students?  These  were  my  thoughts 
then.  A  few  months  later,  and  I  had  won  their  confidence  and  love. 
I  found  they  were  quite  able  to  instruct  me  in  many  things.  I  need 
fear  to  lose  neither  politeness  nor  sense  of  honor  among  these  earnest 
youth.  In  pride  and  dignity  of  character,  in  diligence,  courage,  gen- 
tlemanly conduct,  refinement  and  affection,  truth  and  honesty,  good 
morals,  in  so  far  as  T  knew  or  could  sec,  they  were  my  peers.  Love 
is  always  blind,  they  say.  Was  it  so  in  this  case  \  '--»,, 


LIFE  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOUSE.  435 


IX. 

LIFE  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOUSE. 

Now  that  the  excitement  of  travel  was  over,  I  settled  down  to  my 
duties,  to  survey  the  place  and  surroundings,  and  to  try  and  under- 
stand the  life  around  me.  I  first  examined  my  quarters. 

The  old  mansion  assigned  to  me  was  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
years  old.  It  had  been  in  possession  of  the  same  family  during  that 
period.  The  house  had  been  built  on  part  of  the  site  of  Shibata's  old 
castle,  in  which  he  and  his  band  committed  hara-kiri  and  underwent 
voluntary  cremation.  Across  the  river  rose  Atago  yarna.  On  this 
hill,  Hideyoshi  encamped  with  his  army.  A  few  score  feet  to  the 
west  of  my  gate  was  a  stone  on  which  tradition  says  Shibata  stood 
when  he  drew  an  arrow  to  the  head,  and  shot  it  into  his  enemy's 
camp,  splitting  the  pole  of  the  canopy,  or  mammoth  umbrella,  under 
which  Hideyoshi  sat.  The  moat  which  bounded  the  north  side  of 
my  estate  was  part  of  the  old  fortress,  and  a  few  rods  eastward  stood 
a  gate-way  still  intact,  though  no  "  harsh  thunder "  could  be  grated 
from  its  hinges,  which  rust  had  long  united  together.  My  whole 
estate  was  classic  soil,  and  I  suspect  more  than  one  old  conservative 
growled  to  see  the  foreigner  on  the  spot  made  sacred  by  Echizen's 
greatest  hero,  whose  devotion  to  Yamato  damashi  ideals  had  been  at- 
tested in  blood,  fire,  and  ashes. 

It  was  a  grand  old  house  of  solid  timber,  with  spacious  looms,  and 
long,  well-lighted  corridors.  It  was  sixty  feet  broad,  by  one  hundred 
feet  deep.  Though  of  one  story,  it  had  an  immense  and  lofty  sloping 
roof  and  shaggy  eaves.  The  rooms  numbered  twelve  in  all.  The 
floors  were  laid  with  soft  neat  mats,  and  the  paper  sliding  screens 
could  all  be  taken  out,  if  need  were,  to  make  a  hall  of  vast  area  with 
many  square  columns.  The  corridors,  which  were  ten  feet  wide,  passed 
outside  the  rooms,  yet  were  part  of  the  house.  The  walls,  where  solid, 
were  papered.  The  ceiling,  of  fine  grained  wood,  was  twelve  feet  from 
the  floor.  In  the  rear  were  the  kitchen  and  servants'  quarters. 

The  entire  estate  comprised  about  ten  acres,  the  sides  of  which,  ex- 


436  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

tending  inward  to  a  depth  of  thirty  feet,  were  lined  with  the  dwellings 
of  the  former  retainers  and  servants.  In  the  central  area  had  been 
gardens  and  stables. 

All  these  accessories  to  the  mansion  were  in  the  rear.  The  front  of 
the  house  looked  out  upon  a  long,  beautiful  garden.  To  the  left  was 
a  wall  of  tiles  and  cement,  too  high  for  any  inquisitive  eyes  to  peep 
over,  which  extended  all  around  the  inclosure.  Along:  the  inner  side 

'  o 

was  a  row  of  firs.  These  trees  had  been  planted  by  the  first  ancestor 
of  the  family  that  had  followed  Hideyasu  to  Fukui  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  They  were  now  tall  and  grave  sentinels,  of  mighty  girth 
and  wide-spreading  limbs,  that  measured  their  height  by  rods  and  their 
shadows  by  furlongs.  By  day  they  cast  grateful  shade,  and  at  night 
sifted  the  moonbeams,  over  the  path.  Near  the  end  of  the  court-yard 
was  the  main  gate,  made  of  whole  tree-trunks,  and  crowned  by  an  im- 
posing roof.  Just  within  it  was  the  porter's 
lodge,  where  a  studious  old  mom-ban  (gate- 
keeper) kept  watch  and  ward  over  the  port- 
al, through  which  none  could  enter  except 
men  of  rank  and  office.  He  usually  had 
his  nose  inside  a  book  when  I  saw  him,  for 
he  was  a  great  reader,  and  near-sighted. 
Near  the  lodge  was  a  clump  of  trees,  and 
The  studious  Gate-keeper,  beneath  their  shadow  and  protection  had 
been  the  family  shrine.  It  was  an  ark  cut  out  of  solid  stone,  four 
feet  high.  Within  it  had  been  the  sacred  vases,  mirror,  and  white 
paper,  all  holy  symbols  of  the  Shinto  faith,  which  the  family  pro- 
fessed. All  around  the  now  neglected  garden  were  blossoming  ca- 
mellias, red  as  maiden  blushes,  or  white  as  unstained  innocence.  On 
another  hillock,  tufted  here  and  there  with  azaleas  and  asters,  were 
several  dwarfed  pines.  The  rockery  and  fish-pond,  long  neglected, 
were  overgrovn  and  scarcely  perceptible.  Evidently  it  had  been  a 
charming  place  of  great  beauty,  for  the  traces  were  yet  to  be  seen 
of  former  care  and  adornment.  To  the  right  was  an  arm  of  one  of 
the  castle  moats,  full  of  running  water.  Beyond  its  banks  and  mossy 
and  flower-decked  stone  walls  were  the  gardens  of  several  samurai 
families,  in  which  sweet  rosy-cheeked  children  played,  or  boys  fished, 
or  pretty  girls  came  down  to  look  at  the  lotus  -  flowers.  The  echo 
of  their  merry  laugh  often  reached  me.  In  the  deep  parts  of  the 
stream,  clear  as  crystal,  darted  the  black,  silvery,  or  speckled  fish ; 
while  in  the  shallower  portions  great  turtles  crawled  and  stuck  their 


LIFE  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOUSE.  437 

wedge-like  noses  above  the  water.  In  summer  the  lotus-flowers  grew 
and  bloomed,  slowly  rising  from  the  long  roots  in  the  ooze,  unfolding 
their  first  emerging  tips  into  glorious  concave  shields  of  green,  two 
feet  in  diameter,  corded  beneath  like  the  veins  of  a  gladiator,  and  hold- 
ing on  their  bosses  translucent  pebbles  of  dew.  Then  rose  the  closed 
bolls,  like  a  clasped  hand  that  trembled  with  the  trembling  water,  giv- 
ing no  sign  of  the  beauty  within  —  the  mighty  flower  in  its  bosom. 
Then,  as  the  sunshine  of  summer  fell  aslant  the  cool  water,  the  boll, 
tenderly  and  shyly,  as  if  afraid,  unfolded  day  by  day  until  the  splen- 
did revelation  of  the  lotus  was  complete.  Massive  shield  and  glorious 
flower  made  a  picture  of  unearthly  loveliness  to  the  child  who  strove 
to  pluck  the  remote  beauty,  or  to  the  adult  to  whom  the  lotus-flower 
is  the  emblem  of  eternal  calm.  The  little  Japanese  child  who  first, 
with  the  glorifying  eyes  of  childhood,  looks  upon  its  purity,  finds  in  it 
an  object  of  unspeakable  delight.  The  mature  believer  in  Buddha 
sees  in  it  shadowed  forth  creative  power,  universe,  and  world-growth. 
The  "  lotus  springs  from  the  mud  "  is  ever  the  answer  of  the  Asiatic 
to  him  who  teaches  that  the  human  heart  is  corrupt,  and  unable  to 
cleanse  itself.  The  calyx  of  the  lotus  is  a  triangle  whose  base  is  a  cir- 
cle— symbols  of  spirit  and  form,  of  eternity  and  triunity.  In  Nirvana, 
Buddha  sits  on  a  lotus-flower.  As  the  mortal  body  of  the  believer  ap- 
proaches the  cremation  house,  that  the  borrowed  elements  of  his  body 
may  be  liberated  from  their  fleshly  prison  and  returned  to  their  pri- 
mordial earth  and  air,  a  stone  carved  to  represent  a  lotus-flower  re- 
ceives the  bier.  To  the  Buddhist  the  lotus  is  a  thing  of  beauty,  a  joy 
forever,  because  the  constant  symbol  of  poetic  and  religious  truth. 

I  was  glad  they  had  put  me  in  this  old  mansion.  It  was  full  of 
suggestive  history.  It  had  been  a  home.  Pagan,  heathen,  Asiatic — 
it  mattered  not ;  it  was  a  home.  Here  in  this  garden  the  infant  had 
been  carried  until  a  child — growing  up,  the  playmate  of  the  flowers 
and  birds,  amidst  Nature,  until  it  knew  her  moods,  and  loved  her  with 
the  passionate  fondness  for  her  which  is  so  intense  in  the  people  of 
these  islands.  Here  children  played  among  the  flowers,  caught  their 
first  butterflies,  began  their  first  stratagem  by  decoying  the  unwary  fish 
with  the  hook,  and  picked  off  the  lotus  petals  for  banners,  the  leaves 
for  sun-shades,  and  the  round  seeds  to  eat,  or  roll  like  marbles.  Then, 
as  the  boys  grew  up,  they  put  on  the  swords,  shaved  off  their  fore-hair, 
and  progressed  in  the  lore  of  Chinese  sages  and  native  historians,  and 
were  fired  with  the  narratives  of  the  exploits  of  Taiko  and  Yoritorcf 
and  Iy6yasu ;  while  the  girls  grew  in  womanly  grace  and  beauty,  and 


438  THE  MIKADO"1!*  EMPIRE. 

perfected  themselves  in  household  etiquette  and  studied  the  "  Woman's 
Great  Learning."  Then  had  come  the  marriage  ceremonial,  with  no 
spoken  vows,  and  made  without  priest  or  official,  followed  by  festal 
cheer,  wine,  music,  dance,  and  exchange  of  presents.  Here  the  bride 
became  mother.  Hence,  after  one  hundred  days,  she  went  with  her 
child  to  the  temple,  where  the  robed  and  shaven  bonze  wrote  a  name- 
charm,  and  put  it  in  the  child's  prayer-bag.  In  this  house  had  beer 


The  Wedding  Party.    (Prom  a  Japanese  painting  on  silk.) 


celebrated  many  a  household  festival.  These  rooms  had  echoed  with 
merry  laughter,  or  resounded  with  the  groans  and  sobs  of  grief.  Hence 
had  gone  out  the  funeral  procession,  when  the  bodies  of  loved  parents 
were  borne  to  the  grave  or  the  cremarium.  The  funeral  cortege,  with 
lanterns,  and  hearse  of  pure  white  wood  borne  on  four  men's  shoulders, 
with  robed  bonzes  and  men  in  ceremonial  dress  and  muffled  swords, 
and  women  in  pure  white  robes  and  half-moon-like  caps  of  floss  silk, 


LIFE  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOUSE.  439 

had  passed  out  this  gate.  Prayers  had  been  read,  candles  lighted,  bells 
tinkled,  the  corpse  laid  on  the  pyre,  and  the  fire  lighted  by  the  broth- 
er of  the  deceased,  and  the  ashes  deposited  in  the  vase  in  the  family 
monument  in  that  cemetery  beside  the  mountain  yonder.  In  this  fam- 
ily oratory  a  new  black  tablet,  gilt-lettered,  was  set  among  the  ances- 
tral names,  to  be  honored  through  coming  generations. 

Every  day  some  new  discovery  showed  me  that  this  had  been  a 
home.  Birth,  marriage,  death,  sickness,  sorrow,  joy,  banquet — all  the 
fullness  of  life,  though  not  like  ours,  had  sanctified  it.  I  thought  of 
the  many  journeys  to  Yedo  and  Kioto  of  the  father  on  business,  the 
sons  on  travel  for  culture  and  education,  and  the  daughter  for  relig- 
ion's sake,  or  to  the  distant  home  of  her  husband.  I  pictured  the 
festival  days,  the  feast  of  dolls  for  the  girls,  when  the  great  nursery- 
room  was  decked  with  all  the  rich  toys  with  which  girls  delight  to 
mimic  the  real  life  of  motherhood  and  housekeeping,  which  is  but  a 
few  years  off.  There  stood  the  bamboo  poles  on  which  was  hung  the 
huge  paper  carp,  to  show  that  a  boy  had  been  born  during  the  year, 
or  that  the  heir  of  the  house  would  rise  in  the  world  and  surmount 
all  difficulties,  like  a  carp  leaps  the  water-fall.  New-year's-day  had 
come  to  this  house,  the  only  time  when  profound  Sabbath  reigns  in 
Japan.  Then  the  servants  and  retainers  pledged  anew  their  loyalty, 
congratulated  their  master,  and  received  gifts  of  money  and  clothes. 
I  thought  of  the  religious  festivals  when  the  mansion  and  all  the  ten- 
antry of  the  estate  hung  out  gay  lanterns,  and  the  master's  household, 
like  a  great  heart,  sympathized  in  the  birth,  death,  marriage,  sorrow, 
or  joy  of  the  tenantry.  Thus,  for  centuries  in  this  dwelling,  and  on 
this  ancestral  estate,  lived  the  family  in  peace  and  prosperity. 

Then  came  foreigners  and  many  troubles — civil  war,  revolution,  the 
overthrow  of  the  shogun,  the  restoration  of  the  mikado,  the  threaten- 
ed abolition  of  the  feudal  system.  Great  changes  altered  the  condi- 
tion of  Fukui.  The  revenues  of  the  estate  were  reduced,  the  family 
moved  to  humbler  quarters,  the  retainers  and  tenantry  dispersed,  and 
now  the  foreigner  was  here. 

All  this  I  found  out  gradually,  but  with  each  bit  of  revelation  the 
old  mansion  wore  new  charms.  I  loved  to  walk  in  the  grand  old  gar- 
den at  night,  shut  in  from  all  but  the  stars  and  the  faint  murmur  of 
the  city,  and  the  few  glimmering  lights  on  the  mountain  across  the 
river,  or  when  the  moon  sifted  her  beams  through  the  tall  firs,  or 
bathed  her  face  among  the  lotus-flowers  in  the  moat,  or  silvered  the 
ivy  on  the  wall.  I  had  come  hither  to  be  a  builder  of  knowledge,  to 


440  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

help  bring  the  new  civilization  that  must  destroy  the  old.  Yet  it  was 
hard  to  be  an  iconoclast.  I  often  asked  myself  the  question — Why 
not  leave  these  people  alone  ?  They  seem  to  be  happy  enough ;  and 
he  that  increaseth  knowledge  increaseth  sorrow.  The  sacredness  of 
human  belief  and  reverence  had  consecrated  even  the  old  shrine,  and 
other  hands  than  mine  must  remove  the  stones  of  the  deserted  fane. 
What  vulgarity  to  make  a  dining-room  of  the  family  oratory,  where 
the  ancestral  tablets  once  stood,  and  the  sacred  lights  and  incense  burn- 
ed !  I  found  tied  to  the  front  of  the  house  a  case  of  light  wood,  con- 
taining an  amulet,  written  in  Sanskrit  and  Chinese,  for  the  protection 
of  the  house.  I  took  it  down,  for  I  had  no  faith  in  its  protection; 
but  I  kept  it  carefully  as  a  curious  memento,  because  others  had  trust- 
ed in  it,  and  every  thing  human  is  sacred,  even  faith,  if  our  own  is. 
I  found  nailed  on  the  inner  lintel  of  the  great  gate  a  pile  of  charms  of 
thin  wood,  to  ward  off  disease  and  evil.  One  had  been  added  every 
year,  like  strata  upon  strata,  until  the  deposit  was  a  half-foot  thick. 
They  had  on  them  the  name  and  seal  of  the  temple  in  which  they  iiad 
been  written,  and  were  inscribed  with  Sanskrit  quotations  from  the 
sacred  books. 

Under  the  new  administration,  the  personnel  of  my  establishment 
was  as  follows :  My  interpreter,  Iwabuchi,  occupied  a  pleasant  little 
house  in  the  rear  and  within  call,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  assist  me  when 
visitors  came,  though  most  of  them  went  first  to  Iwabuchi's  house. 
I  found  that  even  in  the  kitchen  the  feudal  spirit  of  grades  and  ranks 
was  strictly  observed.  My  cook  had  an  assistant,  who  himself  had  a 
small  boy,  who  often  hired  other  small  boys  to  do  his  work.  My 
"  boy,"  or  body  -  servant,  had  another  man  to  help  him.  Even  the 
betto,  or  groom,  employed  an  underling  to  do  all  the  actual  manual 
work.  Theoretically,  it  required  a  large  force  of  men  to  guard  and 
wait  on  the  foreigner,  and  I  was  amazed  to  find  myself  so  famous  and 
surrounded. 

To  begin  at  the  height  of  rank  and  honor :  first,  there  was  the  dai- 
mio's  officer,  who  had  been  appointed  to  look  after  my  wants.  He 
had  an  office  for  daily  use  in  one  of  the  distant  rooms  of  the  building. 
Under  him  was  a  subofficial,  and  also  a  clerk.  These  three  men  were 
considered  necessary,  as  foreigners  were  known  to  have  many  wants, 
to  require  troublesome  attention.  Then,  the  foreigner  was  a  stranger 
in  the  city  and  neighborhood,  and  as  the  people  were  unfamiliar  with 
men  of  his  strange  breed,  some  of  them  might  insult  him,  or  a  wan- 
dering jo-i  (foreigner  -  hater)  might  kill  him,  in  which  case  an  in- 


LIFE  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOUSE. 


441 


domnity  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  would  have  to  be  paid  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. Hence,  four  stalwart  samurai,  each  with  their  two  swords, 
were  set  apart  for  my  protection.  These  escorted  me  to  and  from 
school,  and  went  with  me  in  my  walks  and  rides,  and  at  first  were 
very  serviceable  guides,  until  my  familiarity  with  the  language  and 
people,  and  my  perception  of  their  perfectly  harmless  character,  made 
these  armed  men  bores.  They  performed  duty  on  alternate  days,  and 
occupied  a  part  of  the  long  house  to  the  left.  Then,  there  were  five 
or  six  of  the  larger  students,  who  wished  to  live  near  their  teacher. 
They  occupied  another  room  under  the  same  roof  with  the  four 
guards.  At  the  rear  entrance  to  the  inclosure  of  my  house  was  an- 
other gate  and  porter's  lodge,  in  which  a  man  kept  watch  and  ward, 
admitting  none  but  the  privileged,  though  all  who  entered  here  were 
of  much  lower  rank  than  those  who  came  to  the  front  gate.  To  man 
the  two  gates — front  and  rear — a  corps  of  eight  men  were  appointed, 
who  did  duty  alternately.  Their  duties  were  not  onerous.  They  con- 
sisted in  reading,  eating,  sleeping,  drinking  tea,  bowing  to  me  as  I 
passed,  and  keeping  out  stragglers.  The  long  house,  stretching  away 
to  the  eastward,  was  full  of  folks  of  the  humbler  sort,  with  many  chil- 
dren and  babies,  and  of  dogs  not  a  few.  These  youngsters,  with  their 
quaint  dress,  curiously  shaved  heads,  and  odd  ways,  were  often  a 
source  of  great  amusement  to  me.  The  fun  reached  its  climax  when 
they  attempted  to  walk  bamboo  poles  or  turn  somersaults  on  them, 


Boys  playing  on  Bamboo  Bars.    (Hokusai.) 


442 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


often  in  the  latter  motion  becoming  real  gynmasts,  in  the  etymolog- 
ical sense  of  the  word.  In  imitating  wrestling-matches,  they  made 
a  small  arena  of  sand  ringed  by  twisted  rice-straw,  and  then  the  nude 
little  dumplings  of  humanity,  some  of  them  less  than  four  years  old, 
stamped  their  feet,  eat  their  salt,  rinsed  their  mouths,  slapped  their 
knees,  and  then  clinched  in  mimic  rage,  tugging  away  until  victory 
was  declared  for  one  or  the  other,  by  the  Lilliputian  judge  with  fan 
in  hand.  Even  the  applause,  to  the  casting  in  the  ring  of  fans  and 
garments  to  be  redeemed,  as  in  the  real  triumph  of  the  elephantine  fat 
fellows,  who  look  as  though  stuffed  with  blubber  by  means  of  a  sau- 
sage-blower, were  given  with  comical  accuracy  of  imitation.  When 
the  infant  Hercules  got  hold  of  his  antagonist's  clout  —  the  master- 
grij:  of  the  game,  which  put  the  unlucky  one  "  in  chancery,"  a  shout 


The  Grip  of  Victory. 


went  up  from  the  spectators  like  the  Roman  "habet"  or  the  modern 
prize-fighter's  cheers.  Even  the  dogs  seemed  to  enjoy  the  fun,  while 
mothers  and  nurse -maids,  with  babies  strapped  on  their  backs,  over- 
flowed in  a  new  stream  of  palaver. 

Of  the  inmates  of  my  house  I  must  not  omit  mention.  My  serv- 
ant was  selected  and  brought  to  me  on  the  first  day  of  my  arrival,  arid 
shown  his  future  master.  Falling  down  upon  his  hands  and  knees, 
and  bowing  his  forehead  to  the  floor,  he  murmured  something  which 
was  meant  to  be  a  promise  of  good  and  faithful  service.  Then,  rais- 
ing his  body,  he  sat  upon  his  knees  and  heels,  and  waited  further  or- 
ders. I  own  I  was  not  prepossessed.  Sahei  was  less  than  sixty  inches 
high,  with  a  remarkably  ugly  phiz,  thick  protruding  lips,  flat  nose — not 
always  scrupulously  attended  to — and  eyes  of  the  dull,  alligator  hue  so 
common  among  the  lower  classes.  His  skin  was  of  the  most  unsatis- 


LIFE  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOUSE.  443 

factory  tint.  His  motions  were  ungraceful.  His  hands  and  feet,  for 
a  Nihoncse,  were  clumsy.  His  scalp  and  cue — strong  points  in  the 
tout  ensemble  of  a  handsome  native  —  were  not  attractive.  My  first 
sight  of  him  awakened  regrets  that  Sasaki  had  not  selected  a  hand- 
somer specimen  of  his  people  to  wait  on  me.  When  one  has  a  stran- 
ger daily  under  his  nose  and  eyes,  the  aesthetics  of  physical  form  and 
face  assume  a  vast  degree  of  importance.  I  yearned  for  a  more  comely 
form,  more  attractive  face,  and  more  delicately  tinted  skin.  I  thought 
of  the  pretty  pages  in  the  prince's  palace,  and  the  fine-looking  boys 
with  smooth,  cafe-au-lait  skins  and  rosy  cheeks  in  school.  "  I  shall 
keep  Sahei  a  few  weeks  in  deference  to  the  official  who  recommended 
him ;  then  I  shall  get  a  handsomer  boy,"  thought  I,  as  I  dismissed 
him  for  a  while.  I  was  also  at  first  disappointed  in  my  new  servant, 
supposing  him  to  be  single.  I  had  intended  to  have  a  married  man 
with  a  family,  that  I  might  be  able  to  see  more  of  actual  Japanese  life 
under  my  own  roof.  A  bachelor's  quarters  afford  a  poor  field  for  the 
study  of  the  home  life  of  a  people.  I  was  greatly  and  pleasantly  dis- 
appointed. Sahei  was  not  from  the  rice-fields.  He  had  traveled  to 
Tokio,  had  been  in  the  war  as  a  page,  and  was  intelligent  and  fit  to 
wait  on  a  gentleman.  He  had  once  been  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and 
could  do  handy  jobs  about  the  house,  and  he  did  help  me  greatly  to 
make  things  comfortable  when  it  would  cost  too  much  time  and  trou- 
ble to  set  the  whole  official  machinery  of  Fukui  in  motion  to  drive  a 
nail,  or  put  up  a  shelf  for  flower-vase,  or  a  little  Paris  clock.  Sahei 
was  more  comely  in  character  than  in  person.  Cheerful,  faithful,  dili- 
gent, careful  of  his  master,  quick  to  answer  his  call,  tender  of  him  as 
to  a  child,  and  though  a  heathen,  Sahei  was,  according  to  Pope's  defi- 
nition, the  noblest  work  of  God.  He  was  not  only  honest  in  handling 
his  master's  money,  but  as  alert  as  a  watch-dog  to  guard  against  im- 
position, or  loss  through  ignorance.  Furthermore,  Sahei  had  a  family 
— wife,  baby,  and  child's  maid.  This  I  did  not  learn  until  a  week  aft- 
erwardj  when  he  came  to  announce  with  shame,  and  as  if  expecting  my 
displeasure,  that  he  had  a  wife  ;  she  waiting  behind  the  entry  door-way 
to  hear  what  the  danna  san  (master)  would  say.  Might  he  present 
her  to  me?  His  delight  at  my  pleased  surprise  betrayed  itself  in  a 
broad  grin,  and  in  a  moment  more  he  was  leading  his  baby  by  the 
hand,  while  his  wife  waddled  forward,  accompanied  by  her  little  maid. 
Mother,  baby,  and  maid,  in  succession,  fell  on  their  knees,  and  polished 
their  foreheads  on  their  hands  laid  prone  on  the  matting.  Then,  sit- 
ting on  their  heels,  they  bashfully  looked  up  at  their  new  master.  I 


444  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

bid  them  all  stand  up,  and  took  their  photograph  in  my  eye.  The 
imposing  physique  of  Mrs.  Sahei  utterly  dwarfed  her  insignificant  lord, 
and  suggested  a  contrast  between  a  pudding  and  a  tart.  She  was  of 
healthily  tinted  skin  of  lighter  shade,  with  black  eyes  that  sparkled 
as  though  her  head  were  a  voltaic  battery  and  her  eyes  the  terminals. 
Closer  acquaintance  confirmed  my  impressions  of  her.  She  was  an  af- 
fectionate mother,  and  a  jealous  and  careful  wife.  Continually  bub- 
bling over  with  fun,  she  reminded  me,  when  laughing,  of  a  bowl  full  of 
jelly  when  well  shaken.  She  was  a  diligent  worker.  Her  tongue  was 
as  sharp  as  a  freshly  honed  razor,  especially  after  her  liege  lord  had 
spent  too  much  money  on  geishas  and  sake ;  for  the  otherwise  exem- 
plary Sahei  had  two  weaknesses,  which  were  evident  even  to  his  mas- 
ter. He  would  occasionally  make  his  throat  a  funnel  for  sake,  and  he 
delighted  to  spend  an  occasional  evening  amidst  the  fascinations  of 
the  singing  girls,  coming  home  late  at  night,  with  flushed  veins  and  a 
damaged  purse,  to  meet  with  a  Caudle  lecture  on  his  return.  Here 
was  the  bakufu,  or  "  curtain  government,"  of  a  sort  quite  different  from 
that  we  read  of  at  Kamakura.  I  always  knew,  by  Sahei's  sheepish 
looks  and  the  general  flavor  of  demoralization  in  his  appearance  next 
morning,  when  he  had  been  eating  forbidden  and  costly  fruit. 

The  baby  was  as  pretty  and  bright-eyed  a  morsel  of  flesh  as  one 
could  wish  to  see.  His  name  was  Sataro  (first-born  darling  of  Sahei). 
He  was  two  years  old,  just  able  to  keep  his  centre  of  gravity,  and  voy- 
age across  the  rooms  and  through  the  house,  with  only  an  occasional 
sprawl  on  the  matting.  Baby,  on  his  first  introduction,  bobbed  his 
head  in  adult  style,  and  chirped  out,  "  Ohaio,  sensei "  (good-morning, 
teacher),  his  baby  talk  making  it  sound  like  "  chen-chey."  I  immedi- 
ately dubbed  him  "  Chenkey."  Let  me  give  his  photograph.  Chen- 
key  was  a  chubby  boy,  with  rosy  cheeks,  sparkling  black  eyes,  skin  al- 
most as  light  in  tint  and  as  soft  and  smooth  as  an  American  mother's 
darling.  His  head  was  shaved  entirely,  except  a  round  spot  on  the 
back  part ;  his  mother  shaved  his  diminutive  pate  once  a  week,  and 
usually  kept  him  so  sweet  and  wholesome  that  a  romp  with  him  rare- 
ly involved  damage  from  sticky  lips  or  soiled  baby  hands. 

I  must  not  forget  Obun  (tea-tray),  the  little  maid  who  attended  to 
Chenkey,  carried  him  about,  dressed  him,  and  made  her  back  a  seat 
for  him.  Obun  was  eleven  years  old,  a  thin,  frail,  sad-looking  child, 
that  freshened  up  under  a  kind  word  like  a  wilted  flower  when  touched 
by  rain-drops.  Obun  evidently  had  heard  the  dreadful  stories  about 
the  foreigners,  and  believed  them.  Timidly,  and  with  suppressed  fear, 


LIFE  IN  A  JAPANti&E  HOUSE. 


445 


she  had  come  to  greet  the  sensei,  and  only  after  days  and  weeks  of  fa- 
miliar intercourse  and  serving  rne  at  table  could  she  lay  aside  her  fears. 
Even  then  she  was  a  sad-eyed,  dreamy  child,  always  looking  down  deep- 
ly and  solemnly  into  flowers,  or  gazing  at  the  blue  sky  or  the  distant 
mountains,  or  watching  the  stars  at  evening.  Obun  had  had  a  hard 
life  of  it.  Her  mother  had  died  in  giving  her  birth,  and  the  orphan 
was  then  bandied  about  among  nurses  and  relatives  until  she  was  old 
enough  to  take  care  of  a  baby,  when  she  was  given  as  a  servant  to 
Sahei  for  her  food  and  clothes. 

The  personnel  of  Sahei's  establishment  did  not  end  with  wife,  baby, 
and  maid.  It  was  not  for  the  lord  of  the  kitchen  to  draw  water,  clean 
fish,  and  do  the  work  of  the  scullery.  Not  he.  For  this  he  must 

have  a  boy.  "  That  boy  "  was 
Gonji.  Gonji's  wages  were  his 
rice  and  robes  —  two  of  the  lat- 
ter per  annum.  He  was  scarce- 
ly worth  his  full  rations.  Lazy, 
and  uniquely  stupid  in  some 
things,  and  bright  enough  in 
others,  the  keenness  of  his  ap- 
petite kept  pace  with  the  capac- 
ity of  his  stomach.  His  favorite 
occupations  were  worrying  dogs, 
playing  with  Chenkey,  on  whom 
he  doted,  and  amusing  himself  at 
watching  the  sensei,  whose  very 
existence  was  a  profound  mystery 
to  him,  and  whose  every  motion 
was  a  subject  of  wondering  cogi- 
tation. Sometimes,  when  spruced  up,  he  enjoyed  the  honor  of  waiting 
on  the  danna  san.  To  see  the  white  man  eat,  threw  Gonji  in  a  brown 
study  at  once,  as  on  knees  and  heels,  with  waiter  before  him,  he  an- 
ticipated my  wants. 

Every  day  of  my  life  in  the  old  mansion  was  full  of  novelty.  Ev- 
ery trivial  event  was  a  chink  to  let  in  a  new  ray  of  light  upon  Japa- 
nese life,  character,  or  ideas.  One  day  Obun  came  into  the  dining- 
room  after  dinner,  looking  around  for  something,  and  answering  my 
inquiring  eye  with  the  words  "0  mama.'1''  "What  do  you  mean, 
child  ?  Do  you  think  your  mother  is  alive,  and  where  did  you  learn 
that  English  ?"  While  I  was  pondering  the  problem  of  the  possible 


Gonji  iu  a  Brown  Study. 


446  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

affinity  of  the  Japanese  with  the  Aryan  languages,  the  little  maid  seized 
an  empty  plate,  appearing  surprised  at  its  emptiness,  and  went  out. 
I  afterward  found  that  o  mama  meant  "  boiled  rice,"  which  I  had  used 
to  feed  a  flock  of  sacred  pigeons  belonging  to  the  big  temple  near  by, 
which  sometimes  flew  into  my  garden. 

Sahei's  family  had  no  sooner  comfortably  installed  themselves  in 
the  servants'  quarters  than  their  evening  bath  must  be  got  ready. 
The  old  mansion,  like  all  Japanese  houses,  was  provided  with  a  huge 
caldron  and  furnace  quite  near  the  house,  for  heating  water  for  the 
bath  taken  daily  by  every  member  of  every  Japanese  family.  Although 
somewhat  familiar  with  the  sight  of  Eves,  innocent  of  fig-leaves,  tub- 
bing themselves  in  the  open  street  in  broad  daylight,  I  had  supposed 
the  presence  of  the  foreigner  and  stranger  would  deter  any  exhibi- 
tion of  female  nudity  in  or  about  my  house  in  Fukui.  Vain  thought ! 
The  good  wife  innocently  disrobed,  unmindful  of  the  cold  air,  im- 
mersed and  made  her  bath  and  toilet,  with  Chenkey  in  her  arms. 
Having  finished,  she  was  followed  by  Obun,  then  by  her  husband, 
brother,  uncle,  and  Gonji,  in  succession,  who  had  been  about  and 
around,  heating  and  carrying  the  water.  I  can  not  call  them  specta- 
tors, for  they  took  no  interest  whatever,  except  as  assistants,  in  the 
spectacle,  which  to  them  was  an  ordinary  sight,  awakening  no  other 
emotions  than  those  we  feel  in  seeing  a  female  face  or  hand. 

Night  came  —  glorious  moonlight  nights  they  were  in  Fukui.  In 
the  kitchen  the  servants  lighted  their  lamps — a  long  slender  wick  of 
pith,  in  a  dish  of  oil,  set  half-way  up  in  a  square  paper-shaded  frame, 
three  feet  high — a  standing  lantern,  in  the  base  of  which  were  sulphur- 
tipped  chips,  or  matches,  and  flint,  steel,  and  tinder.  Or,  they  set  a 
hollow  paper -wicked  candle,  made  of  vegetable  tallow,  in  a  copper, 
bronze,  or  wooden  candlestick  two  feet  high. 

"  These  people  have  a  theory  of  candles,"  thought  I,  "  as  Symmes 
had  about  the  earth.  Both  theories  are  opposed  to  orthodoxy. 
Symmes's  world  and  a  Japanese  candle  both  have  a  hole  through 
them ;  but  the  former  theory  is  representative  of  a  fact,  while  the  lat- 
ter is  not  yet  proved  to  be  so."  These  hollow  candles  are  stuck  on  a 
spike,  not  set  in  a  socket  like  ours.  The  French  and  English  buy  this 
vegetable  tallow  in  Japan,  bleach  it,  and  import  the  "  wax "  candles 
made  from  it,  selling  to  the  Japanese  at  an  advanced  price.  It  hap- 
pened once,  so  I  have  read,  that  a  Japanese  junk  drifted  to  the  shores 
of  California.  A  newspaper  reporter  announced  in  type,  with  sensa- 
tional intent,  next  day,  that  the  junk  had  been  salt-water-logged  so. 


LIFE  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOUSE. 


447 


[ong  that  the  wick  had  been  entirely  corroded  by  the  action  of  the 
water,  until  the  candle  had  a  hole  entirely  through  it ! 

In  my  own  room,  I  had  my  Connecticut  lamp,  well  fed  with  Penn- 
sylvania petroleum. 

The  snow  had  begun  to  melt,  and,  at  intervals,  a  heavy,  thunderous 
noise  overhead  told  of  a  huge  snow-slide — the  accumulation  of  winter 
sliding  off.  Over  the  castle  and  city  and  yashiki  gates,  and  over  the 
doors  of  houses,  I  had  noticed  a  long  timber  bar  riveted  to  the  roof, 
which  prevented  the  snow  from  falling  on  the  heads  of  people  below, 
while  it  slid  freely  in  other  places.  Anon  the  whirring  of  wings,  and 
the  screaming  of  the  flocks  of  wild  geese  as  they  clove  the  air,  told 


Night  Scene  on  the  River-flats.    (Hoknsui.) 


how  these  restless  birds  enjoyed  the  night  as  well  as  the  day.  These 
geese  were  my  nocturnal  barometer.  I  could  tell  from  the  height  or 
lowness  of  their  flight,  and  the  volume  of  sound  of  their  throats,  what 
were  the  "  weather  probabilities"  for  the  morrow. 

A  view  from  my  garden-gate  included  the  street,  the  river-flats,  a 
few  boats  like  black  spots  on  the  water,  the  bridge,  and  the  masts  ris- 
ing spectrally  beyond  Atago  yama  with  its  twinkling  lights,  people 
returning  home,  and  coolies  hurrying  along  with  belated  travelers. 
The  moon  shone  overhead,  but  yet,  dimly  seen,  reminded  me  vividly 
of  a  sketch  by  one  of  the  native  artists,  whose  great  merits  and  pe- 
culiarities I  was  then  beginning  to  appreciate  and  distinguish,  I  could 


448  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

hear  the  voices  outside,  the  women's  chatting,  the  children's  prattle, 
and  the  coolies'  grunt. 

The  crows  of  Fuluri  were  as  numerous,  merry,  audacious,  and  ab- 
surd as  their  black  brethren  in  the  pine-roosts  of  New  Jersey  or  the 
corn-fields  of  Pennsylvania.  I  wondered  who  it  was  who  had  lived 
in  Japan  three  months,  and  then  innocently  asked  if  there  were  any 
crows  in  the  country.  These  filthy  feeders  amused  me  daily  with 
their  noisy  conventions,  or  their  squabbles  around  the  kitchen  refuse. 
Occasionally  they  ventured  on  bolder  raids.  On  one  occasion  a  state- 
ly raven,  seeing  through  the  window  a  morsel  of  bread  on  the  break- 
fast-table, meditated  a  theft.  A  Japanese  crow  of  the  olden  time 
ought  not,  in  the  nature  of  things,  to  be  expected  to  understand  either 
the  chemical  composition  or  the  physical  properties  of  that  familial 
alkaline  silicate  called  glass.  Viewing  with  his  raven  eye  from  his 
eyrie  in  the  firs  that  morsel  of  bread,  and  knowing  well  the  virtues  of 
wheat,  our  crow  made  a  dash  with  outspread  wings  and  beak  at  the 
bread.  The  result  was  a  badly  stunned  bird  with  a  bumped  head  and 
nearly  broken  beak.  Nothing  daunted,  my  "  Nevermore  "  gathered 
himself  up,  and  proceeded  to  survey  the  situation.  Here  was  a  new 
and  puzzling  subject  of  study.  Glass  was  evidently  a  new  phenome- 
non. It  was  transparent  and  hard,  yet  there  was  the  bread,  and  the 
crow's  craw  was  empty.  What  was  it,  this  invisible  and  pervisual 
barrier?  It  was  not  water,  nor  yet  air.  Perhaps  it  was  ice,  and  Mr. 
Crow  laid  his  eye  against  the  pane  to  test  the  temperature — flattening 
it  like  a  child  its  nose  on  a  rainy  Sunday.  Ah !  happy  thought !  per- 
haps it  would  yield  to  blows. 

Perseverantia  omnia  vincit.  Tap,  tap,  tap,  sounded  the  pick- like 
beak  on  the  tough  glass  pane  with  a  regularity  less  gentle  than  that 
of  Poe's  ebony  visitor.  All  in  vain,  however;  the  pane  yielded  not, 
the  tantalizing  bread  had  to  be  yielded,  and  the  black  Tantalus  flew 
off  with  its  dismal  "  Nevermore,"  to  report  adversely  to  its  comrades, 
and  hold  a  debate  on  the  subject  of  the  unknowable.  Despair  brood 
ed,  not  on  wisdom,  but  on  a  pine-tree. 

The  black  rascals  were  sometimes  more  successful.  With  impu 
dence  almost  human,  and  with  cheek  quite  as  hard,  they  would  even 
occasionally  fly  into  the  house.  One  day  Chenkey  was  standing  on 
the  veranda  next  the  garden,  eating  a  rice -cracknel,  called  kaminari 
sembei  (thunder-cake).  A  vigilant  karasu  (crow)  hopped  from  a  tree- 
branch  to  the  fence,  and,  pretending  to  be  asleep,  calmly  watched  his 
opportunity  with  one  eye.  Chenkey  had  just  taken  a  bite,  and  turned 


LIFE  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOUSE.  449 

his  head  around  for  a  moment.  In  a  trice  the  black  thief  had  swoop- 
ed and  stolen  the  cake.  An  incredible  uproar  of  caws  in  the  tree- 
tops,  a  few  tears  from  Chenkey,  and  it  was  all  over. 

Strange  to  say,  the  natives,  as  their  poetry  attests,  hear  in  the  hoarse 
notes  of  this  sable  bird  the  plaintive  sounds  of  love.  u  Concerning 
tastes,"  and  associations  also,  "  it  is  not  to  be  disputed."  With  ue  a 
lamb  is  an  emblem  of  mildness;  with  the  Japanese,  of  stupidity,  or 
even  obstinacy.  Should  I  call  a  native  a  goose  (<?««•),  he  would  see  no 
more  point  in  the  allusion  than  if  I  called  him  a  turkey  or  a  pheasant. 
In  Japan,  sheep  and  tame  geese  are  unknown,  except  from  reading  of 
them.  The  wild  goose  is  one  of  the  swiftest,  most  graceful,  and  alert 
birds.  It  is  rather  a  compliment  to  be  called  a  (Japanese)  goose. 

There  was  a  goodly  number  of  rats  in  the  old  mansion,  though  they 
rarely  disturbed  me  in  the  day-time.  Their  favorite  place  of  playing 
what  seemed  to  be  foot-ball,  or  Congress,  was  ov^r  the  ceilings,  run- 
ning along  the  beams  immediately  above  the  rafters.  The  builder  of 
the  mansion  had  foreseen  the  future,  and,  with  wise  benevolence,  had 
cut  square  holes  through  certain  portions  of  the  fine  lattice-work  that 
might  be  spoiled  by  irregular  gnawing,  and  thus  earned  the  gratitude 
of  all  rodent  generations.  I  determined  to  be  rid  of  these  ancient 
pests,  and  went  out  in  search  of  a  cat.  I  saw  a  number  of  fat  Tabi- 
thas  and  aldermanic  Thomases  which  I  asked  for,  or  offered  to  pur- 
chase, in  vain.  1  preferred  a  lean  feline  specimen  that  would  seek 
the  rats  from  motives  of  hunger,  but  I  could  get  none.  The  people 
loved  their  pets  too  well.  But  one  day,  on  passing  a  hemp  shop,  I 
saw  a  good-natured  old  lady  sitting  on  her  mats,  with  a  fine  tortoise- 
shell  tabby,  and  instantly  determined  to  get  that  cat.  Accosting  her 
with  the  usual  bov,  I  said,  in  my  best  Japanese,  "Good-morning,  old 
lady.  Will  you  sell  me  that  cat  ?  I  should  like  to  buy  it."  The 
American  reader  will  question  the  propriety  and  my  politeness  in 
using  the  adjective  old.  Not  so  the  Japanese.  It  is  an  honor  to  be 
addressed  or  spoken  of  as  old.  Every  one  called  me"sensei"  (elder- 
born,  or  teacher).  One  of  the  first  questions  which  a  Japanese  will 
•\sk  you  is,  "  How  old  are  you?"  It  is  a  question  which  American  la- 
dies do  not  answer  very  promptly.  But  the  questioner  masks  no  in- 
sult. It  is  not  in  the  same  spirit  as  that  of  the  young  men  who  re- 
fer to  their  maternal  parent  as  the  "  old  woman."  The  old  lady  was 
pleased.  Concerning  the  sale  of  her  cat,  however,  she  demurred.  Her 
neko  was  a  polite,  well-bred  animal.  I  was  a  foreigner  from  some  out- 
landish place  beyond  the  sea.  Could  she  trust  Puss  with  me  2  With 


450 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


head  inclining  forty-five  degrees  over  her  left  shoulder,  she  considered 
Looking  up,  she  said,  "  I  will  not  sell  you  the  cat ;  but  if  you  love  it, 
you  can  have  it."  Of  course,  I  loved  it  on  the  spot.  Taking  the 
name  of  the  street,  and  number  of  the  house,  I  sent  Sahei  for  it.  In- 
stalled in  my  dwelling,  it  proved  to  be  handsome  and  lazy,  disturbing 
but  little  the  ancient  population,  which,  however,  never  troubled  me 
except  by  their  frisky  noise.  My  repeated  invitations  to  a  banquet  of 
arsenic  were  as  often  declined,  with  thanks  and  squeals ;  but  on  wrap- 
ping up  a  piece  of  seasoned  meat  in  a  small  box  in  a  tight  bundle  of 


Father  arid  Children. 

paper,  they  partook  luxuriantly  and  subsided.  The  old  lady  came  oc- 
casionally to  see  her  former  pet,  and  found  in  the  foreigner's  house  un- 
limited delight  over  photograph-album,  stereoscope,  and  wall  pictures, 
and  endless  food  for  wonder  and  subsequent  gossip,  at  the  home  of 
her  son  and  grandchildren — a  very  affectionate  family,  as  I  had  occa- 
sion to  witness,  but  with  a  weakness  for  sak6. 

The  most  remarkable  fact  concerning  the  majority  of  cats  in  Japan 
is  that  they  have  no  tails,  or,  at  least,  a  mere  stump  or  tuft,  like  a  rab- 


LIFE  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOUSE.  451 

bit's.  They  resemble  the  Manx  cat  in  this  respect.  Whether  wholly 
natural,  or  the  long  result  of  art,  I  could  never  satisfactorily  determine. 
It  always  struck  me  as  a  great  feline  affliction,  since  the  chief  play- 
thing of  a  kitten  is  its  tail.  To  run  around  after  their  caudal  stumps 
was  a  sorry  game  in  the  Japanese  cats,  compared  with  the  lively  revo- 
lutions of  those  boasting  twelve  inches  of  tail.  An  American  gentle- 
man once  took  one  of  these  bob-tailed  cats  to  California.  The  creat- 
ure had  evidently  never  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  long-tailed 
brethren  of  its  species,  and  the  unwonted  sight  of  their  terminal  ap- 
pendages seemed  to  incite  the  feline  nature  of  Japan  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  jealousy  and  rage.  It  was  continually  biting,  scratching,  howl- 
ing, and  spitting  at  other  cats,  invariably  seizing  their  tails  in  its  teeth 
when  practicable. 

My  other  dumb  companion  in  Fukui  was  a  black  dog,  with  but  one 
eye.  It  was  an  American  dog  that  had  strayed  away  from  Yokohama, 
and  had  followed  the  daimio's  retinue  across  the  country.  Happen- 
ing to  pass  some  farmers,  who,  reversing  the  proverb  "  Love  me,  love 
my  dog,"  and  hating  foreigners,  whom  they  believed  to  be  descend- 
ants of  these  brutes,  one  of  them  struck  the  poor  creature  in  the  eye 
with  a  grass-hook,  and  made  him  a  Cyclops  from  that  moment.  He 
was  an  affectionate  animal,  and  apparently  fully  understood,  as  I  could 
tell  from  the  language  of  his  tail,  that  I  was  one  of  his  own  country 
creatures,  concentrating  all  his  affection  in  his  remaining  orb.  I  was 
most  amused  at  the  name  given  him  by  the  people.  The  Japanese 
word  for  dog  is  inu.  Some  of  the  young  men  who  had  been  to  Yo- 
kohama had  heard  the  "  hairy  foreigners"  calling  their  dogs  by  crack- 
ing their  fingers  and  crying  "  Come  here."  This  the  Japanese  sup- 
posed to  be  the  name  of  the  dog.  Frequently  in  Fukui  those  who 
wished  to  display  their  proficiency  in  the  barbarian  language  would 
point  to  my  canine  Cyclops,  and  cry  out  "Look  at  that '  Come-here;1 
how  black  he  is  !"  "  Oh  !  see  how  fast  the  American  man's  '  Come- 
here  '  is  running !" 

With  a  cat,  a  one-eyed  dog,  gold-fish,*  home  flowers,  and  plenty  of 
human  life  behind  and  about  me,  the  city  in  view,  the  mountains 
round  about,  and  the  lovely  solitude  of  garden  and  trees  in»  front  of 
me,  and  my  books,  I  was  happy  in  my  immediate  surroundings. 

*  These  were  the  kin-yiyo  (gold-fish)  with  triple  tails,  like  lace,  and  variegated 
brilliant  colors,  which  have  beeii  recently  introduced  into  the  United  States. 


452  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


X. 

CHILDREN'S  GAMES  AND  SPORTS* 

THE  aim  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan  is,  as  I  understand  it,  lc 
endeavor  to  attain  any  and  all  knowledge  of  tlie  Japanese  country 
and  people.  Nothing  that  will  help  us  to  understand  them  is  foreign 
to  the  objects  of  this  society.  While  language,  literature,  art,  relig- 
ion, the  drama,  household  superstitions,  etc.,  furnish  us  with  objects 
worthy  of  study,  the  games  and  sports  of  the  children  deserve  our 
notice.  For,  as  we  believe,  their  amusements  reflect  the  more  serious 
affairs  and  actions  of  mature  life.  They  are  the  foretastes  and  the 
prophecies  of  adult  life  which  children  see  continually ;  not  always 
understanding,  but  ever  ready  to  imitate  it.  Hence  in  the  toy-shops 
of  Japan  one  may  see  the  microcosm  of  Japanese  life.  In  the  chil- 
dren's sports  is  enacted  the  miniature  drama  of  the  serious  life  of  the 
parents.  Among  a  nation  of  players  such  as  the  Japanese  may  be 
said  to  have  been,  it  is  not  always  easy  to  draw  the  line  of  demarka- 
tion  between  the  diversions  of  children  proper  and  those  of  a  larger 
growth.  Indeed,  it  might  be  said  that  during  the  last  two  centuries 
and  a  half,  previous  to  the  coming  of  foreigners,  the  main  business  of 
this  nation  was  play.  One  of  the  happiest  phrases  in  Mr.  Alcock's 
book  is  that  "  Japan  is  a  paradise  of  babies ;"  he  might  have  added, 
that  it  was  also  a  very  congenial  abode  for  all  who  love  play.  The 
contrast  between  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  character  in  this  respect  is 
radical.  It  is  laid  down  in  one  of  the  very  last  sentences  in  the  Tri- 
metrical  Classic,  the  primer  of  every  school  in  the  Flowery  Land,  that 
play  is  unprofitable !  The  whole  character,  manners,  and  even  the 
dress,  of  the  sedate  and  dignified  Chinamen,  seem  to  be  in  keeping 
with  that  aversion  to  rational  amusement  and  athletic  exercises  which 
characterizes  that  adult  population. 

In  Japan,  on  the  contrary,  one  sees  that  the  children  of  a  large! 

*  Read  by  the  author  before  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,  March  18th,  1874 


CHILDREN'' 8  GAMES  AND  tUVHTS. 


453 


growth  enjoy  with  equal  zest  games  which  are  the  same,  or  nearly  tho 
same,  as  those  of  lesser  size  and  fewer  years.  Certain  it  is  that  tho 
adults  do  all  in  their  power  to  provide  for 
the  children  their  full  quota  of  play  and  harm- 
less sports.  We  frequently  see  full-grown  and 
able-bodied  natives  indulging  in  amusements 
which  the  men  of  the  West  lay  aside  with 
their  pinafores,  or  when  their  curls  are  cut.  If 
we,  in  the  conceited  pride  of  our  superior  civ- 
ilization, look  down  upon  this  as  childish,  we 
must  remember  that  the  Celestial,  from  the 
pinnacle  of  his  lofty  and,  to  him,  immeasura- 
bly elevated  civilization,  looks  down  upon  our 
manly  sports  with  contempt,  thinking  it  a 
condescension  even  to  notice  them. 

A  very  noticeable  change  has  passed  over 
the  Japanese  people  since  the  modern  advent 
of  foreigners,  in  respect  of  their  love  of 
amusements.  Their  sports  are  by  no  means 
as  numerous  or  elaborate  as  formerly,  and  they 
do  not  enter  into  them  with  the  enthusiasm 
that  formerly  characterized  them.  The  chil- 
dren's festivals  and  sports  are  rapidly  losing 
their  importance,  and  some  now  are  rarely 
seen.  Formerly  the  holidays  were  almost  as 
numerous  as  saints'  days  in  the  calendar.  Ap- 
prentice-boys had  a  liberal  quota  of  holidays 
stipulated  in  their  indentures ;  and  as  the  chil- 
dren counted  the  days  before  each  great  holi- 
day on  their  fingers,  we  may  believe  that  a 
great  deal  of  digital  arithmetic  was  being  con- 
tinually done.  We  do  not  know  of  any 
country  in  the  world  in  which  there  are  so 
many  toy-shops,  or  so  many  fairs  for  the  sale 
of  the  things  which  delight  children.  Not 
only  are  the  streets  of  every  city  abundantly 
supplied  with  shops,  filled  as  full  as  a  Christ- 
mas stocking  with  gaudy  toys,  but  in  small 
towns  and  villages  one  or  more  children's 
bazaars  may  be  found.  The  most  gorgeous 


454  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

display  of  all  things  pleasing  to  the  eye  of  a  Japanese  child  is  found 
in  the  courts  or  streets  leading  to  celebrated  temples.  On  a  matsuri, 
or  festival  day,  the  toy -sellers  and  itinerant  showmen  throng  with 
their  most  attractive  wares  or  sights  in  front  of  the  shrine  or  temple. 
On  the  walls  and  in  conspicuous  places  near  the  churches  and  cathe- 
drals in  Europe  and  America,  the  visitor  is  usually  regaled  with  the 
sight  of  undertakers'  signs  and  grave-diggers'  advertisements.  How 
differently  the  Japanese  act  in  these  respects,  let  any  one  see  by  visit- 
ing Asakusa,  Kanda  Miojin,  or  one  of  the  numerous  Inari  shrines  in 
Tokio  on  some  great  festival  day. 

We  have  not  space  in  this  chapter  to  name  or  describe  the  numer- 
ous street -shows  and  showmen  who  are  supposed  to  be  interested 
mainly  in  entertaining  children  ;  though  in  reality  adults  form  a  part, 
often  the  major  part,  of  their  audiences.  Any  one  desirous  of  seeing 
these  in  full  glory  must  ramble  down  Yanagi  Clio  (Willow  Street), 
from  Sujikai,  in  Tokio,  on  some  fair  day,  and  especially  on  a  general 
holiday. 

Among  the  most  common  are  the  street  theatricals,  in  which  two, 
three,  or  four  trained  boys  and  girls  do  some  very  creditable  acting, 
chiefly  in  comedy.  Raree-shows,  in  which  the  looker-on  sees  the  in- 
side splendors  of  a  daimio's  yashiki,  or  the  fascinating  scenes  of  the 
Yoshiwara,  or  some  famous  natural  scenery,  are  very  common.  The 
showman,  as  he  pulls  the  wires  that  change  the  scenes,  entertains  the 
spectators  with  songs.  The  outside  of  his  box  is  usually  adorned 
with  pictures  of  famous  actors  or  courtesans,  nine-tailed  foxes,  devils 
of  all  colors,  dropsical  badgers,  and  wrathful  husbands  butchering 
faithless  wives  and  their  paramours,  or  some  such  staple  horror  in 
which  the  normal  Japanese  so  delights.  Story-tellers,  posturers, 
dancers,  actors  of  charades,  conjurers,  flute -players,  song -singers  are 
found  on  these  streets ;  but  those  who  specially  delight  the  children 
are  the  men  who,  by  dint  of  breath  and  fingers,  Avork  a  paste  made  of 
wheat-gluten  into  all  sorts  of  curious  and  gayly  smeared  toys,  such  as 
flowers,  trees,  noblemen,  fair  ladies,  various  utensils,  the  "  hairy  for- 
eigner," the  same  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  the  jin-riki-sha,  etc. 
Nearly  every  itinerant  seller  of  candy,  starch-cakes,  sugared  pease,  and 
sweetened  beans,  has  several  methods  of  lottery  by  which  he  adds  to 
the  attractions  on  his  stall.  A  disk  having  a  revolving  arrow,  whirled 
round  by  the  hand  of  a  child,  or  a  number  of  strings  which  are  con- 
nected with  the  faces  of  imps,  goddesses,  devils,  or  heroes,  lends  the 
excitement  of  chance,  and,  when  a  lucky  pull  or  whirl  occurs,  occasions 


CHILDREN'S  GAMES  AND  SPORTS.  455 

the  subsequent  addition  to  the  small  fraction  of  a  cent's  worth  to  be 
bought.  Men  or  women  itinerants  carry  a  small  charcoal  brazier  un- 
der a  copper  griddle,  with  batter,  spoons,  cups,  and  shoyu  sauce,  to 
hire  out  for  the  price  of  a  cash  each  to  the  little  urchins,  who  spend 
an  afternoon  of  bliss  making  their  own  griddle-cakes  arid  eating  them, 
The  seller  of  sugar-jelly  exhibits  a  devil,  taps  a  drum,  and  dances  for 
the  benefit  of  his  baby-customers.  The  seller  of  mochi  docs  the  same, 
with  the  addition  of  gymnastics  and  skillful  tricks  with  balls  of 
dough.  The  fire-eater  rolls  balls  of  camphor  paste  glowing  with 
lambent  fire  over  his  arms,  and  then  extinguishes  them  in  his  mouth. 
The  bug-man  harnesses  paper  carts  to  the  backs  of  beetles  with  wax, 
and  a  half-dozen  in  this  gear  will  drag  a  load  of  rice  up  an  inclined 
plane.  The  man  with  the  magic  swimming  birds  tips  his  tiny  water- 
fowl with  camphor,  and  floats  them  in  a  long  narrow  dish  full  of  wa- 
ter. The  wooden  toys,  propelled  from  side  to  side  and  end  to  end 
by  the  dissolving  gum,  act  as  if  alive,  to  the  widening  eyes  of  the 
young  spectators.  In  every  Japanese  city  there  are  scores,  if  not 
hundreds,  of  men  and  women  who  obtain  a  livelihood  by  amusing  the 
children. 

Some  of  the  games  of  Japanese  children  are  of  a  national  character, 
and  are  indulged  in  by  all  classes.  Others  are  purely  local  or  exclu- 
sive. Among  the  former  are  those  which  belong  to  the  special  days, 
or  matsuri,  which  in  the  old  calendars  enjoyed  vastly  more  importance 
than  under  the  new  one.  Beginning  with  the  first  of  the  year,  there 
are  a  number  of  games  and  sports  peculiar  to  this  time.  The  girls, 
dressed  in  their  best  robes  and  girdles,  with  their  faces  powdered  and 
their  lips  painted,  until  they  resemble  the  peculiar  colors  seen  on  a 
beetle's  wings,  and  their  hair  arranged  in  the  most  attractive  coiffure, 
are  out  upon  the  street,  playing  battledore  and  shuttlecock.  They 
play,  not  only  in  twos  and  threes,  but  also  in  circles.  The  shuttlecock 
is  a  round  seed,  often  gilded,  stuck  round  with  feathers  arranged  like 
the  petals  of  a  flower.  The  battledore  is  a  wooden  bat ;  one  side  of 
which  is  of  bare  wood,  while  the  other  has  the  raised  effigy  of  some 
popular  actor,  hero  of  romance,  or  singing-girl  in  the  most  ultra-Japa- 
nese style  of  beauty.  The  girls  evidently  highly  appreciate  this  game, 
as  it  gives  abundant  opportunity  to  the  display  of  personal  beauty, 
figure,  and  dress.  Those  who  fail  in  the  game  often  have  their  faces 
marked  with  ink,  or  a  circle  drawn  round  their  eyes.  The  boys  sing 
a  song  that  the  wind  may  blow ;  the  girls  sing  that  it  may  be  calm,  so 
that  their  shuttlecocks  may  fly  straight.  The  little  girls,  at  this  time, 


456  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

play  with  a  ball  made  of  cotton  cord,  covered  elaborately  with  many 
strands  of  bright  varicolored  silk. 

Inside  the  house,  they  have  games  suited,  not  only  for  the  day-time, 
but  for  the  evenings.  Many  foreigners  have  wondered  what  the  Jap- 
anese do  at  night,  and  how  the  long  winter  evenings  are  spent.  On 
fair  and  especially  moonlight  nights,  most  of  the  people  are  out-of- 
doors,  and  many  of  the  children  with  them.  Markets  and  fairs  are 
held  regularly  at  night  in  Tokio,  and  in  the  other  large  cities.  The 
foreigner  living  in  a  Japanese  city,  even  if  he  were  blind,  could  tell,  by 
stepping  out-of-doors,  whether  the  weather  were  clear  and  fine  or  disa- 
greeable. On  dark  and  stormy  nights,  the  stillness  of  a  great  city  like 
Tokio  is  unbroken  and  very  impressive ;  but  on  a  fair  and  moonlight 
night,  the  hum  and  bustle  tell  one  that  the  people  are  out  in  throngs, 
and  make  one  feel  that  it  is  a  city  that  he  lives  in.  In  most  of  the 
castle  towns  in  Japan,  it  was  formerly  the  custom  of  the  people,  espe- 
cially of  the  younger,  to  assemble  on  moonlight  nights  in  the  streets 
or  open  spaces  near  the  castle-gates,  and  dance  a  sort  of  subdued  dance, 
moving  round  in  circles  and  clapping  their  hands.  These  dances  oft- 
en continued  during  the  entire  night,  the  following  day  being  largely 
consumed  in  sleep.  In  the  winter  evenings,  in  Japanese  households 
the  children  amuse  themselves  with  their  sports,  or  are  amused  by 
their  elders,  who  tell  them  entertaining  stories.  The  samurai  father 
relates  to  his  son  Japanese  history  and  heroic  lore,  to  fire  him  with  en- 
thusiasm and  a  love  of  those  achievements  which  every  samurai  youth 
hopes  at  some  day  to  perform.  Then  there  are  numerous  social  en- 
tertainments, at  which  the  children  above  a  certain  age  are  allowed  to 
be  present.  But  the  games  relied  on  as  standard  means  of  amusement, 
and  seen  especially  about  New-year's,  are  those  of  cards.  In  one  of 
these,  a  large,  square  sheet  of  paper  is  laid  on  the  floor.  On  this  card 
are  the  names  and  pictures  of  the  fifty-three  post-stations  between  To- 
kio and  Kioto.  At  the  place  Kioto  are  put  a  few  coins,  or  a  pile  of 
cakes,  or  some  such  prizes,  and  the  game  is  played  with  dice.  Each 
throw  advances  the  player  toward  the  goal,  and  the  one  arriving  first 
obtains  the  prize.  At  this  time  of  the  year  also,  the  games  of  cards 
called,  respectively,  Iroha  Garuta  (Alphabet  Cards),  Hiyaku  Nin  Isshiu 
Garuta  (Onc-Verse-of-One-Himdred-Poets  Cards),  Kokin  Garuta,  Gen- 
ji,  and  Shi  Garuta  are  played  a  great  deal.  The  Iroha  Garuta  (Karuta 
is  the  Japanized  form  of  the  Dutch  Jfarte,  English  card)  are  small 
cards,  each  containing  a  proverb.  The  proverb  is  printed  on  one  card, 
and  the  picture  illustrating  it  upon  another.  Each  proverb  begin* 


CHILDREN'S  GAMES  AND  SPORTS.  457 

with  a  certain  one  of  the  fifty  Japanese  letters,  i,  ro,  A«,  etc.,  and  so 
on  through  the  syllabary.  The  children  range  themselves  in  a  circle, 
and  the  cards  are  shuffled  and  dealt.  One  is  appointed  to  be  reader. 
Looking  at  his  cards,  he  reads  the  proverb.  The  player  who  has  the 
picture  corresponding  to  the  proverb  calls  out,  and  the  match  is  made. 
Those  who  are  rid  of  their  cards  first  win  the  game.  The  one  hold- 
ing the  last  card  is  the  loser.  If  he  be  a  boy,  lie  has  his  face  marked 
curiously  with  ink.  If  a  girl,  she  has  a  paper  or  wisp  of  straw  stuck 
in  her  hair. 

The  Iliaku  Nin  Isshiu  Garuta  game  consists  of  two  hundred  cards, 
on  which  are  inscribed  the  one  hundred  stanzas,  or  poems,  so  cele- 
brated and  known  in  every  household.  A  stanza  of  Japanese  poetry 
usually  consists  of  two  parts,  a  first  and  second,  or  upper  and  lower 
clause.  The  manner  of  playing  the  game  is  as  follows :  The  reader 
reads  half  the  stanza  on  his  card,  and  the  player  having  the  card  on 
which  the  other  half  is  written  calls  out,  and  makes  a  match.  Some 
children  become  so  familiar  with  these  poems  that  they  do  not  need 
to  hear  the  entire  half  of  the  stanza  read,  but  frequently  only  the  first 
word. 

The  Kokin  Garuta,  or  the  game  of  Ancient  Odes,  the  Genji  Garuta, 
named  after  the  celebrated  Genji  (Minamoto)  family  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  the  Shi  Garuta  are  all  card-games  of  a  similar  nature,  but 
can  be  thoroughly  enjoyed  only  by  well-educated  Chinese  scholars,  as 
the  references  and  quotations  are  written  in  Chinese,  and  require  a 
good  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  classics  to  play  them 
well.  To  boys  who  are  eager  to  become  proficient  in  Chinese,  it  oft- 
en acts  as  an  incentive  to  be  told  that  they  will  enjoy  these  games 
after  certain  attainments  in  scholarship  have  been  made.  Having 
made  these  attainments,  they  play  the  game  frequently,  especially  dur- 
ing vacation,  to  impress  on  their  minds  what  they  have  already  learn- 
ed. The  same  benefit  to  the  memory  accrues  from  the  Iroha  and  Hi- 
akunin  Isshiu  Garuta. 

Two  other  games  are  played  which  may  be  said  to  have  an  educa- 
tional value.  They  are  the  Chiye  no  Ita  and  the  Chiye  no  Wa,  or 
the  "  Wisdom  Boards "  and  the  "  Ring  of  Wisdom."  The  former 
consists  of  a  number  of  flat,  thin  pieces  of  wood,  cut  in  many  geomet- 
rical shapes.  Certain  possible  figures  are  printed  on  paper  as  models, 
and  the  boy  tries  to  form  them  out  of  the  pieces  given  him.  In  some 
cases,  much  time  and  thinking  are  required  to  form  the  figure.  The 
Chiye  no  Wa  is  a  ring-puzzle,  made  of  rings  of  bamboo  or  iron  on  a 


458 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRK 


bar.  Boys  having  a  talent  for  mathematics,  or  those  who  have  a  nat 
ural  capacity  to  distinguish  size  and  form,  succeed  very  well  at  these 
games,  and  enjoy  them.  The  game  of  check- 
ers is  played  on  a  raised  stand  or  table,  about 
six  inches  in. height.  The  number  of  go,  or 
checkers,  including  black  and  white,  is  three 
hundred  and  sixty.  In  the  Sho-gi,  or  gamo 
of  chess,  the  pieces  number  forty  in  all.  Back- 
gammon  is  also  a  favorite  play,  and  there  are 
several  forms  of  it.  About  the  time  of  the 
old  New-year's,  when  the  winds  of  February 
and  March  are  favorable  to  the  sport,  kites 
are  flown ;  and  there  are  few  sports  in  which 
Japanese  boys,  from  the  infant  on  the  back  to 
the  full-grown  and  the  over-grown  boy,  take 
more  delight.  I  have  never  observed,  how- 
ever, as  foreign  books  so  often  tell  us,  old 
men  flying  kites,  and  boys  merely  looking  on. 
The  Japanese  kites  are  made  of  tough  paper 
pasted  on  a  frame  of  bamboo  sticks,  and  are 
usually  of  a  rectangular  shape.  Some  of 
them,  however,  are  made  to  represent  children 
or  men,  several  kinds  of  birds  and  animals, 
fans,  etc.  On  the  rectangular  kites  are  pict- 
ures of  ancient  heroes  or  beautiful  women, 
dragons,  horses,  monsters  of  various  kinds,  or 
huge  Chinese  characters.  Among  the  faces 
most  frequently  seen  on  these  kites  are  those 
of  Yoshitsune,  Kintaro,  Yoritomo,  Benke, 
Daruma,  Tomoye,  and  Hangaku.  Some  of 
the  kites  are  six  feet  square.  Many  of  them 
have  a  thin  tense  ribbon  of  whalebone  at  the 
top  of  the  kite,  which  vibrates  in  the  wind, 
making  a  loud,  humming  noise.  The  boys 
frequently  name  their  kites  Genji  or  Ileike, 
and  each  contestant  endeavors  to  destroy  that 
of  his  rival.  For  this  purpose,  the  string,  for 
ten  or  twenty  feet  near  the  kite  end,  is  first 
covered  with  glue,  and  then  dipped  into 
pounded  glass,  by  which  the  string  becomes 


CHILDREN'S  GAMES  AM)  SPORTS. 


459 


covered  with  tiny  blades,  each  able  to  cut  quickly  and  deeply.  By 
getting  the  kite  in  proper  position,  and  suddenly  sawing  the  string 
of  his  antagonist,  the  severed  kite  falls,  to  be  *\ln  'liiMliU**/ 

reclaimed  by  the  victor. 

The  Japanese  tops  are  of  several  kinds ;  f m 
some  are  made  of  univalve  shells,  filled  with 
wax.  Those  intended  for  contests  are  made 
of  hard  wood,  and  are  iron-clad  by  having  a 
heavy  iron  ring  round  as  a  sort  of  tire.  The 
boys  wind  and  throw  them  in  a  manner  some- 
what different  from  ours.  The  object  of  the 
player  is  to  damage  his  adversary's  top,  or  to 
make  it  cease  spinning.  The  whipping-top  is 
also  known  and  used.  Besides  the  athletic 
sports  of  leaping,  running,  wrestling,  slinging, 
the  Japanese  boys  play  at  blind-man's-buff,  hid- 
ing-whoop, and  with  stilts,  pop-guns,  and  blow- 
guns.  On  stilts  they  play  various  games  and 
run  races. 

In  the  Northern  and  Western  coast  prov- 
inces, where  the  snow  falls  to  the  depth  of 
many  feet  and  remains  long  on  the  ground,  it 
forms  the  material  of  the  children's  playthings^ 
and  the  theatre  of  many  of  their  sports.  Be- 
sides sliding  on  the  ice,  coasting  with  sleds, 
building  snow-forts,  and  fighting  mimic  battles 
with  snow-balls,  they  make  many  kinds  of  im- 
ages and  imitations  of  what  they  see  and  know. 
In  America  the  boy's  snow-man  is  a  Paddy 
with  a  damaged  hat,  clay  pipe  in  mouth,  and 
the  shillalah  in  his  hand.  In  Japan  the  snow- 
man is  an  image  of  Daruma.  Daruma  was  one 
of  the  followers  of  Shaka  (Buddha)  who,  by 
long  meditation  in  a  squatting  position,  lost  ]iis 
legs  from  paralysis  and  sheer  decay.  The  im- 
ages of  Daruma  are  found  by  the  hundreds  in 
toy -shops,  as  tobacconists'  signs  and  as  the 
snow-men  of  the  boys.  Occasionally  the  figure 
of  Geiho,  the  sage  with  a  forehead  and  skull  so 
high  that  a  ladder  was  required  to  reach  his 


460  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

pate,  or  huge  cats  and  the  peculiar-shaped  dogs  seen  in  the  toy-shops, 
take  the  place  of  Daruma. 

Many  of  the  amusements  of  the  children  indoors  are  mere  imita- 
tions of  the  serious  affairs  of  adult  life.  Boys  who  have  been  to  the 
theatre  come  home  to  imitate  the  celebrated  actors,  and  to  extempo- 
rize mimic  theatricals  for  themselves.  Feigned  sickness  and  "  playing 
the  doctor,"  imitating  with  ludicrous  exactness  the  pomp  and  solem* 
nity  of  the  real  man  of  pills  and  powders,  and  the  misery  of  the  pa- 
tient, are  the  diversions  of  very  young  children.  Dinners,  tea-parties, 
and  even  weddings  and  funerals,  are  imitated  in  Japanese  children's 
plays. 

Among  the  ghostly  games  intended  to  test  the  courage  of,  or  per- 
haps to  frighten,  children,  are  two  plays  called  respectively  "  Hiyaku 
Monogatari "  and  "  Kon-dameshi,"  or  the  "  One  Hundred  Stories  "  and 
"Soul -examination."  In  the  former  play  a  company  of  boys  and 
girls  assemble  round  the  hibachi,  while  they,  or  an  adult,  an  aged  per- 
son or  a  servant,  usually  relate  ghost  -  stories,  or  tales  calculated  to 
straighten  the  hair  and  make  the  blood  crawl.  In  a  distant  dark 
room,  a  lamp  (the  usual  dish  of  oil),  with  a  wick  of  one  hundred 
strands  or  piths,  is  set.  At  the  conclusion  of  each  story,  the  children 
in  turn  must  go  to  the  dark  room  and  remove  a  strand  of  the  wick. 
A.S  the  lamp  burns  down  low,  the  room  becomes  gloomy  and  dark,  and 
the  last  boy,  it  is  said,  always  sees  a  demon,  a  huge  face,  or  something 
terrible.  In  the  "  Kon-dameshi "  or  "  Soul-examination,"  a  number  of 
boys,  during  the  day  plant  some  flags  in  different  parts  of  a  grave- 
yard, under  a  lonely  tree,  or  by  a  haunted  hill -side.  At  night,  they 
meet  together,  and  tell  stories  about  ghosts,  goblins,  devils,  etc. ;  and 
ut  the  conclusion  of  each  tale,  when  the  imagination  is  wrought  up, 
the  bmr  begins  to  rise  and  the  marrow  to  curdle,  the  boys,  one  at  a 
time,  must  go  out  in  the  dark  and  bring  back  the  flags,  until  all  are 
brought  in. 

On  the  third  day  of  the  third  month  is  held  the  "  Hina  matsuri." 
fhis  is  the  day  especially  devoted  to  the  girls,  and  to  them  it  is  the 
greatest  day  in  the  year.  It  has  been  called,  in  some  foreign  works 
on  Japan,  the  "  Feast  of  Dolls."  Several  days  before  the  matsuri,  the 
shops  are  gay  with  the  images  bought  for  this  occasion,  and  which 
are  on  sale  only  at  this  time  of  year.  Every  respectable  family  has 
a  number  of  these  splendidly  dressed  images,  which  are  from  four 
inches  to  a  foot  in  height,  and  which  accumulate  from  generation  to 
generation.  When  a  daughter  is  born  in  the  house  during  the  previ 


CHILDREN'S  GAMES  AND  SPORTS.  463 

otis  year,  a  pair  of  liina,  or  images,  are  purchased  for  the  little  girl, 
which  she  plays  with  until  grown  up.  When  she  is  married,  her  hina 
are  taken  with  her  to  her  husband's  house,  and  she  gives  them  to  her 
children,  adding  to  the  stock  as  her  family  increases.  The  images 
are  made  of  wood  or  enameled  clay.  They  represent  the  mikado  and 
his  wife ;  the  Kioto  nobles,  their  wives  and  daughters,  the  court  min- 
strels, and  various  personages  in  Japanese  mythology  and  history.  A 
great  many  other  toys,  representing  all  the  articles  in  use  in  a  Japa- 
nese lady's  chamber,  the  service  of  the  eating-table,  the  utensils  of  the 
kitchen,  traveling  apparatus,  etc.,  some  of  them  very  elaborate  and 
costly,  are  also  exhibited  and  played  with  on  this  day.  The  girls 
make  offerings  of  sake  and  dried  rice,  etc.,  to  the  effigies  of  the  em- 
peror and  empress,  and  then  spend  the  day  with  toys,  mimicking  the 
whole  round  of  Japanese  female  life,  as  that  of  child,  maiden,  wife, 
mother,  and  grandmother.  In  some  old  Japanese  families  in  which  I 
have  visited,  the  display  of  dolls  and  images  was  very  large. 

The  greatest  day  in  the  year  for  the  boys  is  on  the  Fifth  day  of 
the  Fifth  month.  On  this  day  is  celebrated  what  has  been  called  the 
"  Feast  of  Flags."  Previous  to  the  coming  of  the  day,  the  shops  dis- 
play for  sale  the  toys  and  tokens  proper  to  the  occasion.  These  are 
all  of  a  kind  suited  to  young  Japanese  masculinity.  They  consist  of 
effigies  of  heroes  and  warriors,  generals  and  commanders,  soldiers  on 
foot  and  horse,  the  genii  of  strength  and  valor,  wrestlers,  etc.  The 
toys  represent  the  equipments  and  regalia  of  a  daimio's  procession,  all 
kinds  of  things  used  in  war,  the  contents  of  an  arsenal,  flags,  stream- 
ers, banners,  etc.  A  set  of  these  toys  is  bought  for  every  son  born  in 
the  family.  Hence,  in  old  Japanese  families,  the  display  on  the  Fifth 
day  of  the  Fifth  month  is  extensive  and  brilliant.  Besides  the  display 
indoors,  on  a  bamboo  pole  erected  outside  is  hung,  by  a  string,  to  the 
top  of  the  pole,  a  representation  of  a  large  fish  in  paper.  The  paper 
being  hollow,  the  breeze  easily  fills  out  the  body  of  the  fish,  which 
flaps  its  tail  and  fins  in  a  natural  manner.  One  may  count  hundreds 
of  these  floating  in  the  air  over  the  city. 

The  nobori,  as  the  paper  fish  is  called,  is  intended  to  show  that  a 
son  has  been  born  during  the  year,  or,  at  least,  that  there  are  sons  in 
the  family.  The  fish  represented  is  the  carp,  which  is  able  to  swim 
swiftly  against  the  current  and  to  leap  over  water-falls.  This  act  of 
the  carp  is  a  favorite  subject  with  native  artists,  and  is  also  typical  of 
the  young  man,  especially  the  young  samurai,  mounting  over  all  diffi- 
culties to  success  and  quiet  prosperity. 


464 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


One  favorite  game,  which  has  now  gone  out  of  fashion,  was  that  in 
which  the  boys  formed  themselves  into  a  daimio's  procession,  having 
forerunners,  officers,  etc.,  and  imitating,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  the  old 
daimio's  train.  Another  game  which  was  very 
popular  was  called  the  "Genji  and  Heike." 
These  are  the  names  of  the  celebrated  rival 
clans,  or  families,  Minamoto  and  Taira.  The 
boys  of  a  town,  district,  or  school  ranged  them- 
selves into  two  parties,  each  with  flags.  Those 
of  the  Heike  were  red,  those  of  the  Genji  white. 
Sometimes  every  boy  had  a  flag,  and  the  object 
of  the  contest,  which  was  begun  at  the  tap  of  a 
drum,  was  to  seize  the  flags  of  the  enemy.  The 
party  securing  the  greatest  number  of  flags  won 
the  victory.  In  other  cases,  the  flags  were  fast- 
ened on  the  back  of  each  contestant,  who  was 
armed  with  a  bamboo  for  a  sword,  and  who  had 
fastened,  on  a  pad  over  his  head,  a  flat,  round 
piece  of  earthenware,  so  that  a  party  of  them 
looked  not  unlike  the  faculty  of  a  college.  Often 
these  parties  of  boys  numbered  several  hundred, 
and  were  marshaled  in  squadrons,  as  in  a  battle. 
At  the  given  signal,  the  battle  commenced,  the 
object  being  to  break  the  earthen  disk  on  the 
head  of  the  enemy.  The  contest  was  usually 
very  exciting.  Whoever  had  his  earthen  disk 
demolished  had  to  retire  from  the  field.  The 
party  having  the  greatest  number  of  broken 
disks,  representative  of  cloven  skulls,  was  de- 
clared the  loser.  This  game  has  been  forbidden 
by  the  Government  as  being  too  severe  and 
cruel.  Boys  were  often  injured  in  it. 

There  arc  many  other  games,  which  we  simply 
mention  without  describing.  There  are  three 
games  played  by  the  hands,  which  every  observ- 
ant foreigner,  long  resident  in  Japan,  must  have 
seen  played,  as  men  and  women  seem  to  enjoy 
them  as  much  as  children.  One  is  called  "  Ishi- 
ken,"  in  which  a  stone,  a  pair  of  scissors,  and  a 


CHILDREN'S  GAMES  AND  SPORTS.  465 

wrappin^-Cioth  arc  represented.  The  stone  signifies  the  clenched  fist, 
the  parted  fore  and  middle  finger  the  scissors,  and  the  curved  forefin- 
ger and  thumb  the  cloth. 

In  the  "  Kitsune-keri,"  the  fox,  man,  and  gun  are  the  figures.  The 
gun  kills  the  fox,  but  the  fox  deceives  the  man,  and  the  gun  is  useless 
without  the  man.  In  the  "  Osama-ken,"  five  or  six  boys  represent  the 
various  grades  of  rank,  from  the  peasant  up  to  the  great  daimids,  or 
shogim.  By  superior  address  and  skill  in  the  game,  the  peasant  rises 
to  the  highest  rank,  or  the  man  of  highest  rank  is  degraded. 

From  the  nature  of  the  Japanese  language,  in  which  a  single  word 
or  sound  may  have  a  great  many  significations,  riddles  and  puns  are 
of  extraordinary  frequency.  I  do  not  know  of  any  published  collec- 
tions of  riddles,  but  every  Japanese  boy  has  a  good  stock  of  them  on 
hand.  There  arc  few  Japanese  works  of  light,  perhaps  of  serious,  lit- 
erature in  which  puns  do  not  continually  recur.  The  popular  songs 
and  poems  are  largely  plays  on  words.  There  are  also  several  puz- 
zles played  with  sticks,  founded  upon  the  shape  of  certain  Chinese 
characters.  As  for  the  short  and  simple  story-books,  song -books, 
nursery-rhymes,  lullabys,  and  what,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  may  be 
styled  Mother  Goose  literature,  they  are  as  plentiful  as  with  us ;  but 
they  have  a  very  strongly  characteristic  Japanese  flavor,  both  in  style 
and  matter.  In  the  games,  so  familiar  to  us,  of  "  Pussy  wants  a  Cor- 
ner "  and  "  Prisoner's  Base,"  the  oni,  or  devil,  takes  the  place  of  Puss 
or  the  officer. 

I  have  not  mentioned  all  the  games  and  sports  of  Japanese  chil- 
dren, but  enough  has  been  said  to  show  their  usual  character.  In 
general,  they  seem  to  be  natural,  sensible,  and  in  every  sense  benefi- 
cial. Their  immediate  or  remote  effect,  next  to  that  of  amusement, 
is  either  educational  or  hygienic.  Some  teach  history,  some  geogra- 
phy, some  excellent  sentiments  or  good  language,  or  inculcate  reverence 
and  obedience  to  the  elder  brother  or  sister,  to  parents  or  to  the  em- 
peror, or  stimulate  the  manly  virtues  of  courage  and  contempt  for 
pain.  The  study  of  the  subject  leads  one  to  respect  more  highly, 
rather  than  otherwise,  the  Japanese  people  for  being  such  affectionate 
fathers  and  mothers,  and  for  having  such  natural  and  docile  children. 
The  character  of  the  children's  plays  and  their  encouragement  by  the 
parents  have,  I  think,  much  to  do  with  that  frankness,  affection,  and 
obedience  on  the  part  of  the  children,  and  that  kindness  and  sym- 
pathy on  that  of  the  parents,  which  are  so  noticeable  in  Japan,  and 
which  form  one  of  the  good  points  of  Japanese  life  and  character. 


466  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


XL 

HOUSEHOLD   CUSTOMS  AND  SUPERSTITIONS. 

HOUSEHOLD,  as  distinct  from  religious,  superstitions  may  be  defined 
as  beliefs  having  no  real  foundation  of  fact  and  a  narrower  range  of  in- 
fluences. They  act  as  a  sort  of  moral  police,  whose  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments are  confined  entirely  to  this  life.  Religious  superstitions  af- 
fect all  mankind  alike ;  those  of  the  household  may  be  said  to  influ- 
ence mainly  women  and  children,  and  to  have  no  connection  with  re- 
ligion or  the  priests.  Screened  from  criticism,  humble  in  their  sphere, 
they  linger  in  the  household  longer  than  religious  superstitions.  Ev- 
ery nation  has  them  ;  and  according  to  the  degree  of  intelligence  pos- 
sessed by  a  people  will  they  be  numerous  or  rare.  In  most  cases  they 
are  harmless,  while  many  have  a  real  educational  value  for  children 
and  simple-minded  people,  who  can  not,  by  their  own  intelligence, 
foresee  the  remote  good  or  bad  results  of  their  conduct.  These  per- 
sons may  be  influenced  by  the  fear  of  punishment  or  the  hopes  of  re- 
ward, embodied  in  a  warning  told  with  gravity,  and  enforced  by  the 
apparently  solemn  belief  of  him  who  tells  it.  As  children  outgrow 
them,  or  as  they  wear  out,  those  who  once  observed  will  laugh  at,  and 
yet  often  continue  them  through  the  force  of  habit.  Others  will  be 
retained  on  account  of  the  pleasure  connected  with  the  belief.  Oth- 
ers, again,  become  so  intrenched  in  household  customs  that  religion, 
reason,  argument,  fashion,  assault  them  in  vain.  Thus,  among  many  of 
us,  the  upsetting  of  a  salt-cellar,  the  dropping  of  a  needle  that  stands 
upright,  the  falling  of  a  looking-glass,  the  accidental  gathering  of  thir- 
teen people  around  the  dinner-table,  will  give  rise  to  certain  thoughts 
resulting  in  a  course  of  action  or  flutter  of  fear  that  can  not  be  ration- 
ally explained.  I  once  heard  of  a  Swedish  servant-girl  who  would  not 
brush  away  the  cobwebs  in  her  mistress's  house,  lest  she  should  sweep 
away  her  beaux  also.  As  in  our  own  language,  the  fancies,  poetry,  or 
fears  of  our  ancestors  are  embalmed  in  the  names  of  flowers,  in  words 
and  names,  so  the  student  of  the  picture-words  of  the  Japanese  Ian- 


ffOUSEMOLD   CUSTOMS  AND  tiWElt&TITlONS.  407 

guage  finds  in  them  fragments  of  poems,  quaint  conceits,  or  hideous 
beliefs. 

So  far  as  I  could  judge,  in  Japan,  the  majority  of  the  lower  classes 
implicitly  believe  the  household  superstitions  current  among  them  ; 
and  though,  in  the  upper  strata  of  society,  there  were  many  men  who 
laughed  at  them,  the  power  of  custom  enslaved  the  women  and  chil- 
dren. The  greater  number  of  those  I  give  below  are  believed  by  the 
larger  portion  of  the  people,  particularly  in  the  country.  In  this,  as 
in  others  of  a  more  serious  nature,  the  belief  varies  with  the  mood 
and  circumstances  of  the  individual  or  people.  Many  of  them  I  have 
seen  or  heard  referred  to  in  conversation  or  in  my  reading ;  others  I 
have  had  noted  down  for  me  by  young  men  from  various  parts  of  Ja- 
pan. I  find  that  a  few  of  them  are  peculiar,  or  local,  to  one  province ; 
but  most  of  them  form  the  stock  of  beliefs  common  to  mankind  or 
the  Japanese  people.  From  hundreds,  I  give  a  few.  Some  have  an 
evident  moral  or  educational  purpose — to  inculcate  lessons  of  tidiness, 
benevolence,  and  to  form  good  habits  of  cleanliness,  nicety  in  house- 
keeping, etc.  Some  are  weather  prognostics,  or  warnings  intended  to 
guard  against  fire  or  other  calamities. 

They  never  sweep  the  rooms  of  a  house  immediately  after  one  of 
the  inmates  has  set  out  upon  a  journey,  or  to  be  absent  for  a  time. 
This  would  sweep  out  all  the  luck  with  him. 

At  a  marriage  ceremony,  neither  bride  nor  bridegroom  wears  any 
clothing  of  a  purple  color,  lest  their  marriage -tie  be  soon  loosed,  as 
purple  is  the  color  most  liable  to  fade.  It  would  be  as  if  a  couple 
from  New  Jersey  would  go  to  Indiana  to  spend  their  honey-moon. 

If,  while  a  person  is  very  sick,  the  cup  of  medicine  is  upset  by  acci- 
dent, they  say  it  is  a  sure  sign  of  his  recovery.  This  looks  as  though 
the  Japanese  had  faith  in  the  dictum,  "  Throw  physic  to  the  dogs." 

There  are  some  curious  ideas  in  regard  to  cutting  the  finger-nails. 
The  nails  must  not  be  trimmed  just  previous  to  going  on  a  journey, 
lest  disgrace  should  fall  upon  the  person  at  the  place  of  his  destina- 
tion. Upon  no  account  will  an  ordinary  Japanese  cut  his  nails  at 
night,  lost  cat's  nails  grow  out  from  them.  Children  who  cast  the 
clippings  of  their  nails  in  the  brazier  or  fire  are  in  danger  of  calamity. 
If,  while  any  one  is  cutting  the  nails,  a  piece  springs  into  the  fire,  he 
will  die  soon.  By  burning  some  salt  in  the  fire,  however,  the  danger 
is  avoided. 

It  seems  that  the  bore  is  not  unknown  in  Japan,  and  the  Japanese 
are  pestered  with  visitors  who  sit  their  welcome  out,  and  drive  their 


468  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

hosts  into  a  frenzy  of  eagerness  to  get  rid  of  tliein.  The  following  is 
said  to  be  a  sure  recipe  to  secure  good  riddance :  Go  to  the  kitchen, 
turn  the  broom  upside  down,  put  a  towel  over  it,  and  fan  it  lustily. 
The  tedious  visitor  will  soon  depart.  Or,  burn  a  moxa  (Japanese,  mo- 
gusa)  on  the  back  of  his  clogs.  A  Japanese,  in  entering  a  house,  al- 
ways leaves  his  clogs  or  sandals  outside  the  door.  The  American 
host,  bored  by  tedious  callers,  is  respectfully  invited  to  try  his  method 
of  hastening  departures. 

Japanese  papas,  who  find,  as  other  fathers  do,  how  much  it  costs  to 
raise  a  large  family,  will  not  let  an  infant,  or  even  a  young  child,  look 
in  a  mirror  (and  thus  see  a  child  exactly  like  itself,  making  apparent 
twins) ;  for  if  he  does,  the  anxious  parent  supposes  the  child,  when 
grown  up  and  married,  will  have  twins. 

When  small-pox  prevails  in  a  neighborhood,  and  parents  do  not  wish 
their  children  attacked  by  it,  they  write  a  notice  on  the  front  of  their 
houses  that  their  children  are  absent.  This  is  said  to  keep  out  the  disease. 

Many  have  reference  to  death  or  criminals.  A  Japanese  corpse 
is  always  placed  with  its  head  to  the  north  and  feet  to  the  south. 
Hence,  a  living  Japanese  will  never  sleep  in  that  position.  I  have 
often  noticed,  in  the  sleeping-rooms  of  private  houses,  where  I  was  a 
guest,  and  in  many  of  the  hotels,  a  diagram  of  the  cardinal  points  of 
the  compass  printed  on  paper,  and  pasted  on  the  ceiling  of  the  room, 
for  the  benefit  of  timid  sleepers.  Some  Japanese,  in  traveling,  carry  a 
compass,  to  avoid  this  really  natural  and  scientific  position  in  sleep. 
I  have  often  surprised  people,  especially  students,  in  Japan,  by  telling 
them  that  to  lie  with  the  head  to  the  north  was  the  true  position  in 
harmony  with  the  electric  currents  in  the  atmosphere,  and  that  a 
Frenchman,  noted  for  his  longevity,  ascribed  his  vigorous  old  age 
mainly  to  the  fact  that  he  slept  in  a  line  drawn  from  pole  to  pole. 
I  used  to  shock  them  by  invariably  sleeping  in  that  position  myself. 

The  plaintive  howling  of  a  dog  in  the  night-time  portends  a  death 
in  some  family  in  the  vicinity  of  the  animal. 

The  wooden  clogs  of  the  Japanese  are  fastened  on  the  foot  by  a 
single  thong  passing  between  the  largest  and  next  largest  toe.  The 
stocking,  or  sock,  is  a  "  foot-glove,"  with  a  separate  compartment  for 
the  "  thumb  of  the  foot,"  and  another  mitten-like  one  for  the  "  foot- 
lingers."  This  thong,  divided  into  two,  passes  over  the  foot  and  is 
fastened  at  the  sides.  If,  in  walking,  the  string  breaks  in  front,  it  is 
the  sign  of  some  misfortune  to  the  person's  enemies ;  if  on  the  back 
part,  the  wearer  himself  will  experience  some  calamity. 


HOUSEHOLD   CUSTOMS  AND  SUPERSTITIONS.  409 

When,  by  reason  of  good  fortune  or  a  lucky  course  of  events,  there 
is  great  joy  in  a  family,  it  is  customary  to  make  kowameshi,  or  red 
rice,  and  give  an  entertainment  to  friends  and  neighbors.  The  rice  is 
colored  by  boiling  red  beans  with  it.  If,  for  any  cause,  the  color  is 
not  a  fine  red,  it  is  a  bad  omen  for  the  family,  and  their  joy  is  turned 
to  grief. 

When  a  person  loses  a  tooth,  either  artificially  at  the  hands  of  the 
dentist  (Japanese,  "tooth-carpenter"),  or  by  forceps,  or  by  accident,  in 
order  that  another  may  grow  in  the  empty  socket,  the  tooth,  if  from 
the  upper  jaw,  is  buried  under  the  foundation  of  the  house ;  if  from 
the  lower  jaw,  it  is  thrown  up  on  the  roof  of  a  house. 

Many  are  founded  upon  puns,  or  word-resemblances,  making  the 
deepest  impression  upon  the  native  mind.  There  are  many  instances 
in  Japanese  history  in  which  discreet  servants  or  wise  men  gave  a  hap- 
py turn  to  some  word  of  sinister  omen,  and  warded  off  harm. 

At  New-year's-day,  paterfamilias  does  not  like  any  one  to  utter  the 
sound  shi  (death),  or  any  word  containing  it.  This  is  a  difficult  mat- 
ter in  a  household,  since  the  syllable  shi  has  over  a  dozen  different 
meanings,  and  occurs  in  several  hundred  Japanese  words,  some  of  them 
very  common.  Thus,  let  us  suppose  a  family  of  husband,  wife,  child, 
and  servant,  numbering  four  (shi).  A  visitor  calls,  and  happens  to  use 
the  words  Shiba  (a  city  district  in  Tokio),  shi  (teacher,  poem,  four,  to 
do,  etc.).  The  host,  at  first  merely  angry  with  the  visitor  who  so  forci- 
bly uses  the  sinister  words,  is  incensed  when  the  latter  happens  to  re- 
mark that  his  host's  household  consists  of  four  («/«'),  and  wishes  him 
gone.  Moodily  reflecting  on  his  visitor's  remark,  he  resolves  to  dis- 
miss his  servant,  and  so  make  his  household  three.  But  the  shrewd 
servant,  named  Fuku,  remonstrates  with  his  master  for  sending  away 
fuku  (blessing,  luck)  from  his  house.  The  master  is  soothed,  and 
keeps  his  "  boy." 

Many  Japanese  worship  the  god  Kampira  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  the  first  syllable  of  his  name  means  gold. 

If  a  woman  steps  over  an  egg-shell,  she  will  go  mad ;  if  over  a  ra- 
zor, it  will  become  dull ;  if  over  a  whetstone,  it  will  be  broken.  If  a 
man  should  set  his  hair  on  fire,  he  will  go  mad.  A  girl  who  bites  her 
finger-nails  will,  when  married,  bring  forth  children  with  great  diffi- 
culty. Children  are  told  that  if  they  tell  a  lie,  an  oni,  or  an  imp,  called 
the  tengti,  will  pull  out  their  tongues.  Many  a  Japanese  urchin  has 
spoken  the  truth  in  fear  of  the  oni  supposed  to  be  standing  by,  ready 
to  run  away  with  his  tongue.  No  such  watchman  seems  to  be  set  be- 


470  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

fore  the  unruly  member  of  the  scolding  wife.  Of  these  "  edge-tools 
that  grow  sharper  by  constant  use  "  there  is  a  goodly  number  in  Ja- 
pan. When  husband  and  wife  are  quarreling,  a  devil  is  believed  to 
stand  between  them,  encouraging  them  to  go  on  from  bad  to  worse. 

Salt  is  regarded  as  something  so  mysterious  in  its  preservative  pow- 
er, that  it  is  the  subject  of  several  household  superstitions.  A  house- 
wife will  not,  on  any  account,  buy  salt  at  night.  When  obtained  in 
the  day-time,  a  portion  of  it  must  first  be  thrown  in  the  fire  to  ward 
off  all  dangers,  and  especially  to  prevent  quarreling  in  the  family.  It 
is  also  used  to  scatter  around  the  threshold  and  in  the  house  after  a 
funeral,  for  purificatory  purposes. 

Many  are  the  imaginary  ways-  of  getting  rich,  so  numerous  in  every 
land.  One  of  the  most  important  articles  of  Japanese  clothing,  in 
both  male  and  female,  is  the  o&i,  or  girdle.  If,  in  dressing,  the  obi 
gets  entangled,  and  forms  a  knot  or  knob,  the  wearer  never  unties  it 
himself,  but  proposes  to  some  one  else  to  do  it  for  him,  promising 
him  a  great  sum,  as  the  wearer  is  sure  to  be  rich.  There  is  usually  a 
great  deal  of  laughing  when  this  "  superstition  "  is  observed. 

All  Japanese  seem  to  have  a  desire  to  attain  full  stature.  Stunted 
growth  is  a  great  grief  to  a  man,  and  every  thing  of  ill-omen  calculated 
to  restrain  growth  must  be  avoided.  If  a  boy  rests  a  gun  on  the  top 
of  his  head,  he  will  grow  no  taller.  Children  must  not  carry  any  kind 
of  basket  on  their  heads,  nor  must  they  ever  measure  their  own  height. 
Siuh  a  sight  as  men  or  women  carrying  burdens  on  their  heads,  so 
common  in  Europe,  is  rarely  seen  in  Japan. 

If  a  man,  while  going  to  fish,  meets  a  bonze  on  the  road,  he  will 
catch  no  fish,  as  the  [strict]  bonzes  eat  no  fish. 

A  person  who,  when  eating,  bites  his  tongue,  believes  that  somebody 
begrudges  him  his  food. 

It  often  happens  that  boys  and  girls  like  to  cat  the  charred  portions 
of  rice  that  sometimes  remain  in  the  pot  when  the  rice  has  been  burn- 
ed. Young  unmarried  people  who  persist  in  this  are  warned  that  they 
will  marry  persons  whose  faces  arc  pock-marked. 

Many  people,  especially  epicures,  have  an  idea  that  by  eating  the 
first  fruits,  fish,  grain,  or  vegetables  of  the  season,  they  will  live  sev- 
enty-five days  longer  than  they  otherwise  would. 

It  is  an  exceedingly  evil  omen  to  break  the  chopsticks  while  eating. 
Children  are  told  that  if  they  strike  any  thing  with  their  chopsticks 
while  at  their  meals,  they  will  be  struck  dumb. 

People  who  drink  tea  or  water  out  of  the  spout  of  the  vessel,  in- 


HOUSEHOLD   CUSTOMS  AND  SUPERSTITIONS.  471 

stead  of  out  of  a  cup,  arc  told  that  they  will  have  a  child  with  a 
mouth  shaped  like  the  spout  of  the  vessel.  This  terror  is  kept  fresh 
before  the  mind  by  masks  and  pictures  of  human  beings  with  spout- 
shaped  mouths. 

In  Japan  the  dwellings  are  universally  built  of  wood,  and  conflagra- 
tions very  frequently  destroy  whole  towns  or  villages  in  a  single  day 
or  night,  leaving  nothing  but  ashes.  Hence  it  is  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance to  provide  against  the  ever-ready  enemy,  and  every  "  sign  ''  is 
carefully  heeded.  The  following  prognostics  arc  deemed  unfailing: 
When  the  cocks  crow  loudly  in  the  evening ;  when  a  dog  climbs  up 
on  the  roof  of  a  house  or  building  of  any  kind.  If  a  weasel  cries  out 
once,  fire  will  break  out:  to  avert  it,  a  person  must  pour  out  three 
dipperfuls  of  water,  holding  the  dipper  in  the  left  hand.  A  peculiar 
kind  of  grass,  called  kinode  (sunrise),  grows  on  many  Japanese  houses : 
this  must  not  be  pulled  up,  otherwise  the  house  will  take  fire. 

In  regard  to  visitors,  they  believe  the  following :  In  pouring  tea 
from  the  tea-pot,  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  stem  of  a  leaf  comes 
out  with  the  tea,  and  stands  momentarily  upright.  From  whatever 
direction  the  stem  finally  falls,  they  expect  a  visitor.  If  a  bird,  in  fly- 
ing, casts  its  shadow  on  the  partition  or  window  (which  is  of  paper, 
and  translucent),  a  visitor  will  surely  call  soon.  A  person,  when  ab- 
stracted or  in  trouble,  while  eating,  will  often  pour  out  his  tea  from 
the  back  of  the  tea-pot,  instead  of  through  the  spout.  In  such  case 
it  is  a  sure  sign  of  the  near  visit  of  a  priest  to  the  house. 

Many  are  intended  to  teach  the  youth  to  imitate  great,  good,  or 
wise  men. 

If  the  rim  (fuchi,  also  meaning  "  salary  ")  of  a  cup  is  broken  (hana- 
reru,  also  meaning  is  "  lost ")  in  presence  of  an  official  while  he  is  eat- 
ing, he  will  be  unhappy,  for  he  will  understand  it  to  mean  that  he 
will  lose  his  office  or  salary. 

Even  among  the  educated  samurai,  with  whom  the  maintaining  of 
the  family  name  and  dignity  is  all -important,  there  are  many  danger- 
ous seasons  for  travelers,  and  the  number  of  lucky  and  unlucky  days 
is  too  numerous  to  be  fully  noted  here. 

Many  people  of  the  lower  classes  would  not  wash  their  head  or  hair 
on  "the  day  of  the  horse,"  so  named  after  one  of  the  signs  of  the 
zodiac,  lest  their  hair  become  red.  Any  other  capillary  color  than  a 
deep  black  is  an  abomination  to  a  Japanese. 

During  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  or  moon,  people  carefully  cover  the 
wells,  as  they  suppose  that  poison  falls  from  the  sky  during  the  period 


472  THE  MIKADO  'S  EMPIRE. 

of  the  obscuration.  Seeds  will  not  germinate  if  planted  on  certain 
days.  Many  people  will  not  build  a  house  fronting  to  the  north-east, 
else  it  will  soon  be  destroyed :  this  is  the  quarter  in  which  especial  evil 
lurks ;  it  is  called  the  "  Devil's  Gate."  Young  men  must  not  light 
their  pipes  at  a  lamp  :  it  should  be  done  at  the  coals  in  the  brazier.  If 
•they  persist  in  violating  this  precaution,  they  will  not  get  good  wives. 
Many  people  even  now,  in  the  rural  districts,  think  it  wrong  to  eat  beef, 
and  believe  that  a  butcher  will  have  a  cripple  among  his  descendants. 

When  a  maimed  or  deformed  child  is  born,  people  say  that  its  par- 
ents or  ancestors  committed  some  great  sin.  After  5  P.M.  many  peo- 
ple will  not  put  on  new  clothes  or  sandals.  There  are  several  years  of 
life  called  the  yaku-doshi  (evil  years),  in  which  a  person  must  be  very 
careful  of  himself  and  all  he  does.  These  critical  years  are  the  seventh, 
twenty-fifth,  forty- second,  and  sixty -first  in  a  man's,  and  the  seventh, 
eighth,  thirty -third,  forty-second,  and  sixty-first  in  a  woman's  life. 

In  Japan,  as  with  us,  each  baby  is  the  most  remarkable  child  ever 

.seen,  and  wondrous  are  the  legends  rehearsed  concerning  each  one; 

but  it  is  a  great  day  in  a  Japanese  home  when  the  baby,  of  his  own 

accord,  walks  before  his  first  birthday,  and  mochi  (rice  pastry)  must 

be  made  to  celebrate  the  auspicious  event. 

Young  girls  do  not  like  to  pour  tea  or  hot  water  into  a  cup  of 
kawameshi  (red  rice),  lest  their  wedding-night  should  be  rainy. 

The  common  belief  in  Japan  is  that  the  dream  is  the  act  of  the 
soul.  As  soon  as  a  person  falls  asleep,  the  soul,  leaving  the  body, 
goes  out  to  play.  If  we  wake  any  one  suddenly  and  violently,  he 
will  die,  because  his  soul,  being  at  a  distance,  can  not  return  to  the 
body  before  he  is  awakened.  The  soul  is  supposed  to  have  form  and 
color,  and  to  be  a  small,  round,  black  body ;  and  the  adventures  of 
the  disembodied  soul,  i.  e.,  the  black  ball  apart  from  its  owner,  form 
a  standard  subject  in  Japanese  novels  and  imaginative  literature. 

In  general,  dreams  go  by  contraries.  Thus,  if  one  dreams  that  he  was 
killed  or  stabbed  by  some  one  with  a  sword,  the  dream  is  considered 
a  very  lucky  one.  If  a  person  dreams  of  finding  money,  he  will  soon 
lose  some.  If  he  dreams  of  loss,  he  will  gain.  If  one  dreams  of  Fuji 
no  yama,  he  will  receive  promotion  to  high  rank,  or  will  win  great 
prosperity.  If  on  the  night  of  the  second  day  of  the  First  month  one 
dreams  of  the  takara-bune  (treasure-ship),  he  shall  become  a  rich  man. 
In  order  to  dream  this  happy  dream,  people  often  put  beneath  their 
pillows  a  picture  of  it,  which  operates  like  bridal-cake. 

All  these  beliefs  and  hundreds  of  others  that  I  noted  in  Japan  are 


HOUSEHOLD  CUSTOMS  AND  SUPERSTITIONS.  473 

comparatively  harmless.  The  Japanese  fancy  docs  not  seem  to  have 
reached  that  depth  of  disease,  to  have  suffered  with  that  delirium  tre- 
mens  of  superstition,  such  as  inthralls  and  paralyzes  the  Chinese,  and 
prevents  all  modern  progress.  Feng  Shuey  is  not  a  national  curse  in 
Japan,  as  it  is  in  China ;  and  whereas,  in  the  latter  country,  telegraph 
poles  and  wires  are  torn  down  because  they  cast  a  shadow  over  the 
ancestral  tombs,  and  railroads  can  not  be  built  because  they  traverse  or 
approach  grave-yards,  in  Japan  both  these  civilizers  arc  popular. 

In  a  few  years  many  of  the  household  superstitions  I  have  enumer- 
ated will  be,  in  the  cities  of  Japan,  as  curious  to  the  Japanese  as  they 
are  to  us.  Among  these  are  the  following,  with  which  this  long 
chapter  may  be  closed : 

All  over  the  country,  in  town  or  city,  are  trees  specially  dedicated 
to  the  kami,  or  gods.  Those  around  shrines  also  are  deemed  sacred. 
They  are  often  marked  by  a  circlet  of  twisted  rice-straw.  Several 
times  in  the  recent  history  of  the  country  have  serious  insurrections 
broken  out  among  the  peasantry,  because  the  local  authorities  decided 
to  cut  down  certain  trees  held  in  worshipful  reverence  by  the  people, 
and  believed  to  be  the  abode  of  the  tutelary  deities.  Nature,  in  all 
her  forms,  is  as  animate  and  populous  to  the  Japanese  imagination  as 
were  the  mountain  stream  and  sea  to  the  child  and  peasant  of  an- 
cient Greece.  Many  a  tale  is  told  of  trees  shedding  blood  when  hew- 
ed down,  and  of  sacrilegious  axe-men  smitten  in  death  for  their  temer- 
ity. In  popular  fiction — the  mirror  as  well  as  nurse  of  popular  fancy 
— a  whole  grove  of  trees  sometimes  appears  to  the  belated  or  guilty 
traveler  as  a  whispering  council  of  bearded  and  long-armed  old  men. 

In  Fukui  and  Tokio,  and  in  my  numerous  journeyings,  many  trees 
were  pointed  out  to  me  as  having  good  or  evil  reputation.  Some 
were  the  abodes  of  good  spirits,  some  of  ghosts  that  troubled  travel- 
ers and  the  neighborhood;  while  some  had  the  strange  power  of  at- 
tracting men  to  hang  themselves  on  their  branches.  This  power  of 
fascinating  men  to  suicide  is  developed  in  the  tree  after  the  first  vic- 
tim has  done  so  voluntarily.  One  of  these,  standing  in  a  lonely  part 
of  the  road  skirting  the  widest  of  the  castle  moats  in  Fukui,  was  fa- 
mous for  being  the  elect  gallows  for  all  the  suicides  by  rope  in  the 
city.  Another  tree,  near  the  Imperial  College  in  Tokio,  within  half  a 
mile  of  my  house,  bore  a  similar  sinister  reputation ;  and  another,  on 
the  south  side  of  Shiba  grove,  excelled,  in  number  of  victims,  any  in 
that  great  city. 

A  singular  superstition,  founded  upon  the  belief  that  the  kami  will 


474  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

visit  vengeance  upon  those  who  desecrate  the  sacred  trees,  or  for 
whom  they  are  desecrated,  is  called  the  "  Ushi  toki  mairi " — literally, 
"  to  go  to  the  shrine  at  the  hour  of  the  ox."  Let  us  suppose  that  a 
man  has  made  love  to  a  woman,  won  her  affections,  and  then  deserted 
her.  In  some  cases,  sorrow  culminates  in  suicide ;  usually,  it  is  en- 
dured and  finally  overborne  ;  in  rare  cases,  the  injured  woman  becomes 
a  jealous  avenger,  who  invokes  the  gods  to  curse  and  annihilate  the 
destroyer  of  her  peace.  To  do  this,  she  makes  a  rude  image  of  straw, 
which  is  to  represent  her  victim.  At  the  hour  of  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  ushi  toki  (the  hour  of  the  ox),  she  proceeds  (mairi)  to  the 
shrine  of  her  patron  god,  usually  the  Uji-gami  (family  or  local  deity). 
Her  feet  are  shod  with  high  clogs,  her  limbs  are  lightly  robed  in  loose 
night-dress  of  white,  her  hair  is  disheveled,  and  her  eyes  sparkle  with 
the  passion  within  her.  Sometimes  she  wears  a  crown,  made  of  an 
iron  tripod  reversed,  on  which  burn  three  candles.  In  her  left  hand 
she  carries  the  straw  effigy ;  in  her  right  she  grasps  a  hammer.  On 
her  bosom  is  suspended  a  mirror.  She  carries  nails  in  her  girdle  or 
in  her  mouth.  Reaching  the  sacred  tree,  which  is  encircled  with  a 
garland  of  rice-straw,  before  the  shrine,  and  near  the  torii,  she  impales 
upon  the  tree  with  nails,  after  the  manner  of  a  Roman  crucifier,  the 
straw  effigy  of  her  recreant  lover.  While  so  engaged,  she  adjures  the 
gods  to  save  their  tree,  impute  the  guilt  of  desecration  to  the  traitor, 
and  visit  him  with  their  deadly  vengeance.  The  visit  is  repeated 
nightly,  several  times  in  succession,  until  the  object  of  her  incanta- 
tions sickens  and  dies.  At  Sabae,  which  I  visited,  a  town  twenty-five 
miles  from  Fukui,  before  a  shrine  of  Kampira  stood  a  pine-tree  about 
a  foot  thick,  plentifully  studded  with  nails,  the  imperishable  parts  of 
these  emblems  of  vicarious  vengeance.  Another,  and  a  smaller,  tree 
hard  by,  wounded  unto  death  by  repeated  stabs  of  the  iron  nails  driv- 
en home  by  arms  nerved  to  masculine  strength,  had  long  since  with- 
ered away.  It  stood  there,  all  ecarred  ard  stained  by  rust,  and  gut- 
tered into  rottenness,  a  grim  memorial  of  passions  long  since  cooled 
in  death,  perchance  of  retribution  long  since  accomplished.  What 
tales  of  love  and  desertion,  anguish,  jealousy,  and  vengeance  could 
each  rusty  cross  of  iron  points  tell,  were  each  a  tongue !  It  seemed 
but  another  of  many  proofs  that  the  passions  which  thrill  or  torment 
the  human  soul  are  as  strong  in  Japan  as  in  those  lands  whose  chil- 
dren boast  that  to  them  it  is  given  to  reach  the  heights  of  highest  hu- 
man joy,  and  to  sound  the  depths  of  deepest  human  woe.  In  Japan, 
also,  "  Love  is  as  strong  as  death  ;  jealousy  is  cruel  as  the  grave." 


THE  MYTHICAL  ZOOLOGY  OF  JAPAN.  477 


XII. 

THE  MYTHICAL  ZOOLOGY  OF  JAPAN. 

As  if  to  make  amends  for  the  poverty  of  the  actual  fauna  in  Japan, 
the  number  and  variety  of  imaginary  creatures  in  animal  form  are  re- 
markably great.  Man  is  not  satisfied  with  what  the  heavens  above 
and  the  waters  under  the  earth  show  him.  Seeing  that  every  effect 
must  have  a  cause,  and  ignorant  of  the  revelations  of  modern  science, 
the  natural  man  sees  in  cloud,  tempest,  lightning,  thunder,  earthquake, 
and  biting  wind  the  moving  spirits  of  the  air.  According  to  the  pri- 
mal mold  of  the  particular  human  mind  will  the  bodying  of  these 
things  unseen  be  lovely  or  hideous,  sublime  or  trivial.  Only  one  born 
among  the  triumphs  of  modern  discovery,  who  lives  a  few  years  in  an 
Asiatic  country,  can  realize  in  its  most  perfect  vividness  the  definition 
of  science  given  by  the  master  seer — "  the  art  of  seeing  the  invisible." 

The  aspects  of  nature  in  Japan  are  such  as  to  influence  the  minds 
of  its  mainly  agricultural  inhabitants  to  an  extent  but  faintly  realized 
by  one  born  in  the  United  States.  In  the  first  place,  the  foundations 
of  the  land  are  shaky.  There  can  be  no  real  estate  in  Japan,  for  one 
knows  not  but  the  whole  country  may  be  ingulfed  in  the  waters  out 
of  which  it  once  emerged.  Earthquakes  average  over  two  a  month, 
and  a  hundred  in  one  revolution  of  the  moon  have  been  known.  The 
national  annals  tell  of  many  a  town  and  village  ingulfed,  and  of  cities 
and  proud  castles  leveled.  Floods  of  rain,  causing  dreadful  land-slides 
and  inundations,  are  by  no  means  rare.  Even  the  ocean  has,  to  the 
coast-dweller,  an  added  terror.  Not  only  do  the  wind  and  tempest 
arise  to  wreck  and  drown,  but  the  tidal  wave  is  ever  a  possible  visitor. 
Once  or  twice  a  year  the  typhoons,  sometimes  the  most  dreadful  in  the 
dreadful  catalogue  of  destructive  agencies,  must  be  looked  for.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  entire  surface  of  the  empire  is  covered  with  mount- 
ains— not  always  superb  models  of  form  like  Fuji,  but  often  jagged 
peaks  and  cloven  crests,  among  which  are  grim  precipices,  frightful 
gulches,  and  gloomy  defiles.  With  no  religion  but  that  of  paganism 
and  fetichism,  armed  without  by  no  weapons  of  science,  strengthened 


478  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

within  by  no  knowledge  of  the  Creator-father,  the  Japanese  peasant  is 
appalled  at  his  own  insignificance  in  the  midst  of  the  sublime  myste- 
ries and  immensities  of  nature.  The  creatures  of  his  own  imagination, 
by  which  he  explains  the  phenomena  of  nature  and  soothes  his  terrors, 
though  seeming  frightful  to  us,  arc  necessities  to  him,  since  the  awful 
suspense  of  uncertainty  and  ignorance  is  to  him  more  terrible  than  the 
creatures  whose  existence  he  imagines.  Though  modern  science  will 
confer  an  ineffable  good  upon  Japan  by  enlightening  the  darkened  in- 
tellect of  its  inhabitants,  yet  the  continual  liability  to  the  recurrence  of 
destructive  natural  phenomena  will  long  retard  the  march  of  mind,  and 
keep  alive  superstitions  that  now  block  like  bowlders  the  path  of  civ- 
ilization. 

Chief  among  ideal  creatures  in  Japan  is  the  dragon.  The  word 
dragon  stands  for  a  genus  of  which  there  are  several  species  and  va- 
rieties. To  describe  them  in  full,  and  to  recount  minutely  the  ideas 
held  by  the  Japanese  rustics  concerning  them,  would  be  to  compile  an 
octavo  work  on  dragonology.  The  merest  tyro  in  Japanese  art — in- 
deed, any  one  who  has  seen  the  cheap  curios  of  the  country — must 
have  been  impressed  with  the  great  number  of  these  colossal  wrigglers 
on  every  thing  Japanese.  In  the  country  itself,  the  monster  is  well- 
nigh  omnipresent.  In  the  carvings  on  tombs,  temples,  dwellings,  and 
shops — on  the  Government  documents — printed  on  the  old  and  the 
new  paper  money,  and  stamped  on  the  new  coins — in  pictures  and 
books,  on  musical  instruments,  in  high-relief  on  bronzes,  and  cut  in 
stone,  metal,  and  wood — the  dragon  (tatsu)  everywhere  "  swinges  the 
scaly  horror  of  his  folded  tail,"  whisks  his  long  mustaches,  or  glares 
with  his  terrible  eyes.  The  dragon  is  the  only  animal  in  modern  Ja- 
pan that  wears  hairy  ornaments  on  the  upper  lip. 

I  shall  attempt  no  detailed  description  of  the  Japanese  dragon, 
presuming  that  most  foreign  readers  arc  already  familiar  with  its  ap- 
pearance on  works  of  art.  The  creature  looks  like  a  winged  crocodile, 
except  as  to  the  snout,  which  is  tufted  with  hair,  and  the  claws,  which 
are  very  sharp.  The  celebrated  Japanese  author,  Bakin,  in  his  master- 
piece of  Hakkcndcn  ("The  Eight  Dog  Children"),  describes  the  mon- 
ster with  dogmatic  accuracy.  lie  says :  "  The  dragon  is  a  creature  of 
a  very  superior  order  of  being.  It  has  a  deer's  horns,  a  horse's  head, 
eyes  like  those  of  a  devil,  a  neck  like  that  of  a  snake,  a  belly  like  that 
of  a  red  worm,  scales  like  those  of  a  fish,  claws  like  a  hawk's,  paws  like 
a  tiger's,  and  ears  like  a  cow's.  In  the  spring,  the  dragon  lives  in  heav- 
en ;  in  the  autumn,  in  the  water ;  in  the  summer,  it  travels  in  the 


THE  MYTHICAL  ZOOLOGY  OF  JAPAN. 


479 


clouds  and  takes  its  pleasure ;  in  winter,  it  lives  in  the  eartli  dormant. 
It  always  dwells  alone,  and  never  in  herds.  There  are  many  kinds  of 
dragons,  such  as  the  violet,  the  yellow,  the  green,  the  red,  the  white,  the 
black,  and  the  flying  dragon.  Some  are  scaly,  some  horned,  some  with- 
out horns.  When  the  white  dragon  breathes,  the  breath  of  its  lungs 
goes  into  the  earth  and  turns  to  gold.  When  the  violet  dragon  spits, 
the  spittle  becomes  balls  of  pure  crystal,  of  which  gems  and  caskets 
are  made.  One  kind  of  dragon  has  nine  colors  on  its  body,  and  an- 
other can  see  every  thing  within  a  hundred  ri ;  another  has  immense 
treasures  of  every  sort ;  another  delights  to  kill  human  beings.  The 
water  dragon  causes  floods  of  rain ;  when  it  is  sick,  the  rain  has  a 


The  Rain  Dragon.    (Prom  a  Japanese  drawing,  by  Kano.) 

fishy  smell.  The  fire  dragon  is  only  seven  feet  long,  but  its  body  is 
of  flame.  The  dragons  are  all  very  lustful,  and  approach  beasts  of  ev- 
ery sort.  The  fruit  of  a  union  of  one  of  these  monsters  with  a  cow 
is  the  kirin  ;  with  a  swine,  an  elephant ;  and  with  a  mare,  a  steed  of 
the  finest  breed.  The  female  dragon  produces  at  every  parturition 
nine  young.  The  first  young  dragon  sings,  and  likes  all  harmonious 
sounds,  hence  the  tops  of  Japanese  bells  are  cast  in  the  form  of  this 


480  THE  MIKADOES  EMPIRE. 

dragon ;  the  second  delights  in  the  sounds  of  musical  instruments, 
hence  the  koto,  or  horizontal  harp,  and  suzumi,  a  girl's  drum,  struck  by 
the  fingers,  are  ornamented  with  the  figure  of  this  dragon ;  the  third 
is  fond  of  drinking,  and  likes  all  stimulating  liquors,  therefore  goblets 
and  drinking-cups  are  adorned  with  representations  of  this  creature ; 
the  fourth  likes  steep  and  dangerous  places,  hence  gables,  towers,  and 
projecting  beams  of  temples  and  pagodas  have  carved  images  of  this 
dragon  upon  them  ;  the  fifth  is  a  great  destroyer  of  living  things,  fond 
of  killing  and  bloodshed,  therefore  swords  are  decorated  with  golden 
figures  of  this  dragon ;  the  sixth  loves  learning  and  delights  in  litera- 
ture, hence  on  the  covers  and  title-pages  of  books  and  literary  works 
are  pictures  of  this  creature ;  the  seventh  is  renowned  for  its  power  of 
hearing ;  the  eighth  enjoys  sitting,  hence  the  easy -chairs  are  carved  in 
its  images ;  the  ninth  loves  to  bear  weight,  therefore  the  feet  of  tables 
and  of  hibachi  are  shaped  like  this  creature's  feet.  As  the  dragon  is 
the  most  powerful  animal  in  existence,  so  the  garments  of  the  emperor 
or  mikado  are  called  the  '  dragon  robes,'  his  face  the  '  dragon  counte- 
nance,' his  body  the  '  dragon  body,'  the  ruffling  of  the  '  dragon  scales ' 
his  displeasure,  and  his  anger  the  '  dragon  wrath.'  " 

Whence  arose  the  idea  of  the  dragon  ?  Was  the  pterodactyl  known 
to  the  early  peoples  of  the  East  ?  Did  the  geologic  fish-lizard  wander 
at  night,  with  teeth  unpicked  and  uncleansed  of  phosphorescent  frag- 
ments of  his  fish-diet,  and  thus  really  breathe  out  fire,  as  the  artists 
picture  him  ? 

The  kirin,  referred  to  above,  is  an  animal  having  the  head  of  a  drag- 
on, the  body  of  a  deer,  and  the  legs  and  feet  of  a  horse,  with  tail  and 
streaming  haii  or  wings  peculiar  to  itself,  though  native  poets  never 
bestride  it,  nor  is  it  any  relative  of  Pegasus.  On  its  forehead  is  a 
single  horn.  It  is  found  carved  on  the  wood-work  of  the  tombs  of 
the  shoguns  and  other  defunct  worthies  in  Japan.  It  is  said  that  the 
kirin  appears  on  the  earth  once  in  a  thousand  years,  or  only  when 
some  tran  seen  den  tly  great  man  or  sage,  like  Confucius,  is  born.  It 
never  treads  on  a  live  insect,  nor  eats  growing  grass.  The  kirin  is  of 
less  importance  in  Japan  than  in  China,  whence  its  origin,  like  that  of 
so  much  of  the  mythology  and  strange  notions  current  in  Japan. 

There  is  another  creature  whose  visits  are  rarer  than  those  of  an- 
gels, since  it  appears  on  the  earth  only  at  millennial  intervals,  or  at  the 
birth  of  some  very  great  man.  This  fabulous  bird,  also  of  Chinese  or- 
igin, is  called  the  howo,  or  phenix.  The  tombs  of  the  shoguns  at  Shi- 
ba  and  NikkO  have  most  elaborate  representations  of  the  howo,  and 


THE  MYTHICAL  ZOOLOGY  OF  JAPAN.  481 

the  new  and  old  paper  currency  of  the  country  likewise  bears  its  im- 
age. It  seems  to  be  a  combination  of  the  pheasant  and  peacock.  A 
Chinese  dictionary  thus  describes  the  fowl :  "  The  phenix  is  of  the 
essence  of  water ;  it  was  born  in  the  vermilion  cave ;  it  roosts  not 
but  upon  the  most  beautiful  tree  (Wu-tung,  Elceococcus  oleifera) ;  it 
eats  not  but  of  the  seeds  of  the  bamboo ;  it  drinks  not  but  of  the 
sweetest  spring ;  its  body  is  adorned  with  the  Five  Colors ;  its  song 
contains  the  Five  Notes ;  as  it  walks,  it  looks  around ;  as  it  flics,  the 
hosts  of  birds  follow  it."  It  has  the  head  of  a  fowl,  the  crest  of  a 
swallow,  the  neck  of  a  snake,  the  tail  of  a  fish.  Virtue,  obedience, 
justice,  fidelity,  and  benevolence  are  symbolized  in  the  decorations  on 
its  head,  wings,  body,  and  breast. 

Some  of  the  ultra-conservatives,  who  cherish  the  old  superstitions, 
and  who  look  with  distrust  and  contempt  on  the  present  regime  in 
Japan,  await  the  coming  of  the  kirin  and  the  howo  with  eagerness,  as 
the  annunciation  of  the  birth  of  the  great  leader,  who  is,  by  his  pre- 
eminent abilities,  to  dwarf  into  insignificance  all  the  pigmy  politicians 
of  the  present  day.  This  superstition  in  Japan  takes  the  place  of 
those  long  in  vogue  in  Europe,  where  it  was  supposed  that  such  lead- 
ers as  Charlemagne,  Alfred,  and  Barbarossa  were  sleeping,  but  would 
come  forth  again  at  the  propitious  moment,  to  lead,  conquer,  and 
reign. 

The  kappa  is  a  creature  with  the  body  and  head  of  a  monkey 
and  the  claws  of  a  tortoise.  There  arc  various  representations  of  it, 
gravely  figured  in  native  works  on  rcptilology.  In  some  of  these,  the 
monkey  type  seems  to  prevail ;  in  others,  the  tortoise.  There  is  a  pe- 
culiar species  of  tortoise  in  the  waters  of  Japan,  called  by  the  natives 
suppon.  Its  shell  is  cartilaginous,  its  head  triangular,  and  its  probos- 
cis elongated  and  tapering.  Imagine  this  greenish  creature  rising  up, 
shedding  its  shell,  and  evolving  into  a  monkey-like  animal,  about  the 
size  of  a  big  boy,  but  retaining  its  web-footed  claws,  and  you  have  the 
kappa.  It  is  supposed  to  live  in  the  water,  and  to  seize  people,'  espe- 
cially boys,  who  invade  its  dominions.  It  delights  in  catching  well- 
favored  urchins,  and  feasting  upon  choice  tidbits  torn  out  of  certain 
parts  of  their  bodies. 

The  kappa,  fortunately,  is  very  fond  of  cucumbers,  and  parents  hav- 
ing promising  sons  throw  the  first  cucumbers  of  the  season  into  the 
water  it  is  supposed  to  haunt,  to  propitiate  it  and  save  their  chil- 
dren. In  Fukui,  I  was  warned  not  to  bathe  in  a  certain  part  of  the 
river,  as  the  kappa  would  infallibly  catch  me  by  the  feet  and  devour 


482  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

me ;  and  more  than  one  head  was  shaken  when  it  became  known  that 
I  had  defied  their  warnings. 

A  woman  was  riding  in  a  jin-riki-sha,  and  the  coolie  was  coursing 
at  full  speed  on  the  road  at  the  side  of  the  castle-moat,  where  the 
water  is  four  feet  deep.  Suddenly,  and,  to  the  coolie,  unaccountably, 
he  and  his  vehicle  were  upset,  and  the  precious  freight  was  thrown 
into  the  moat.  She  was  fished  out  in  a  condition  that  might  have 
helped  even  a  passing  foreigner  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  the  mer- 
maid. The  coolie  was  puzzled  to  account  for  the  capsizing  of  his  ma- 
chine, and  immediately  attributed  it  to  the  agency  of  the  kappa.  By 
venturing  insultingly  near  the  domain  of  this  local  Neptune,  he  had 
been  punished  by  his  muddy  majesty.  Though  the  woman  had  no 
mark  of  claw  or  teeth,  she  doubtless  congratulated  herself  on  her  lucky 
escape  from  the  claws  of  the  monster. 

I  have  heard,  on  several  occasions,  of  people  in  Tokio  seeing  a  kap- 
pa in  the  Sumida-gawa,  the  river  that  flows  by  the  capital.  Numer- 
ous instances  of  harm  done  by  it  are  known  to  the  orthodox  believ- 
ers, to  whom  these  creations  of  diseased  imagination  are  embodied  ver- 
ities. The  native  newspapers  occasionally  announce  reported  cases  of 
kappa  mischief,  using  the  incidents  as  texts  to  ridicule  the  supersti- 
tion, hoping  to  uproot  it  from  the  minds  of  the  people. 

Among  the  many  ideal  creatures  with  which  the  native  imagina- 
tion has  populated  earth  and  air  is  the  kama-itacki,  believed  to  be  a 
kind  of  weasel,  that,  in  the  most  wanton  sport,  or  out  of  mere  delight 
in  malignity,  cuts  or  tears  the  faces  of  people  with  the  sickle  which  it 
is  supposed  to  carry.  This  creature  is  not  known  to  trouble  any  ani- 
mal except  man.  Every  one  knows  that  at  times,  in  moments  of  ex- 
citement, cuts  or  scratches  are  received  which  are  discovered  only  by 
the  appearance  of  blood.  In  Japan,  where  the  people  universally  wear 
clogs — often  high,  heavy  blocks  of  wood,  the  thong  of  which  is  lia- 
ble to  break — and  the  ground  is  covered  with  loose  pebbles  or  sharp 
stones,  falls  and  cuts  are  very  frequent.  The  one  thought,  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  every  other,  in  an  instance  of  this  kind,  is  about  the  failing 
thong  or  the  outslipping  support.  The  pedestrian,  picking  himself 
up,  with  probably  a  malediction  on  the  thong  or  the  clog-maker,  finds, 
on  cooling  off,  that  his  face  is  cut.  Presto !  "Kama-itachi  ni  kirare- 
ta  "  ("  cut  by  the  sickle-weasel  ").  The  invisible  brute  has  passed  and 
cut  his  victim  on  the  cheek  with  his  blade.  I  have  myself  known 
cases  where  no  cut  appeared  and  no  blood  flowed,  yet  the  stumbler 
who  broke  his  clog-string  fell  to  cursing  the  kama-itachi  for  tripping 


THE  MYTHICAL  ZOOLOGY  OF  JAPAN. 


483 


him.  This  creature  is  also  said  to  be  present  in  whirlwinds.  It  is  a 
most  convenient  scape-goat  for  people  who  go  out  at  night  when  they 
ought  to  stay  at  home,  and  who  get  cuts  and  scratches  which  they  do 
not  care  to  account  for  truly.  A  case  recently  occurred  in  the  port  of 
Niigata,  which  illustrates  both  the  mythical  and  scape-goat  phases  of 
this  belief.  A  European  doctor  was  called  to  sec  a  native  woman, 
who  was  said  to  be  suffering  from  the  kama-itachi.  The  patient  was 
found  lying  down,  with  a  severe  clean  cut,  such  as  might  have  been 
caused  by  falling  on  some  sharp  substance ;  but  to  all  questions  as  to 
how  she  got  the  wound,  the  only  answer  was,  "  Kama-itachi."  By 


Futen,  the  Wind-imp.    (From  a  Japanese  drawing.) 

dint  of  questioning  the  servants,  it  appeared  that  there  was  more  in 
the  facts  than  had  met  the  doctor's  ears.  It  seemed  that,  during  the 
night,  she  had  risen  and  passed  out  of  the  house,  and  had  been  absent 
for  a  considerable  time.  AVhether  there  was  a  "  love-lorn  swain  in 
lady's  bower"  awaiting  her  coming  was  not  developed  during  the 
pumping  process  she  was  subjected  to  by  the  student  of  imaginary 
zoology,  who  was  the  catechist  of  the  occasion.  Japanese  gardens  are 
nearly  always  paved  with  smooth  stones,  which  often  have  sharp  edges. 
These  might  easily  have  inflicted  just  such  a  wound  in  case  of  a  fall  on 


484 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


their  slippery  surfaces,  especially  if  the  fall  occurred  in  the  darkness, 
For  reasons  of  her  own,  most  probably,  the  blame  was  laid  on  the  ka« 
ma-itachi. 

The  wind  and  the  thunder,  to  a  Japanese  child  or  peasant,  are  some- 
thing more  than  moving  air  and  sound.  Before  many  of  the  temples 
are  figures,  often  colossal,  of  the  gods  of  the  wind  and  of  thunder. 
The  former  is  represented  as  a  monstrous  semi-feline  creature,  holding 
an  enormous  bag  of  compressed  air  over  his  shoulders.  When  he 
loosens  his  hold  on  one  of  the  closed  ends,  the  breezes  blow ;  when  he 
partly  opens  it,  a  gale  arises ;  when  he  removes  his  hand,  the  tornado 
devastates  the  earth.  At  times,  this  imp,  as  the  fancy  seizes  him,  sal- 


Eaiden,  the  Thunder-drummer.    (From  a  native  drawing.) 

lies  forth  from  his  lair  away  in  the  mountains,  and  chases  terrified 
travelers  or  grass-cutters ;  often  scratching  their  faces  dreadfully  with 
his  claws.  Sometimes,  invisibly  passing,  he  bites  or  tears  the  counte- 
nance of  the  traveler,  who,  bearing  the  brunt  of  the  blast,  feels  the 
wound,  but  sees  not  the  assailant.  There  are  not  wanting  pictures 
and  images  representing  the  deliverance  of  pious  men,  who,  trusting  in 
the  goddess  Kuanon,  have,  by  dint  of  nimblencss  and  prayer,  escaped, 
as  by  a  hair-breadth,  the  steel-like  claws  of  Futen,  the  wind-imp. 
The  "thunder-god"  is  represented  as  a  creature  that  looks  like  a 


THE  MYTHICAL  ZOOLOGY  OF  JAPAN.  485 

human  dwarf  changed  into  a  species  of  erect  cat.  His  name  is  Raiden. 
He  carries  over  his  head  a  semicircle  of  five  drums  joined  together. 
By  striking  or  rattling  these  drums,  he  makes  thunder.  With  us  it  is 
not  the  thunder  that  strikes ;  but  in  Japanese  popular  language,  the 
thunder  not  only  strikes,  but  kills.  According  to  Russian  supersti- 
tion, thunder  kills  with  a  stone  arrow.  Among  the  Japanese,  when 
the  lightning  strikes,  it  is  the  thunder-cat  that  leaps  upon,  or  is  hurled 
at,  the  victim.  Often  it  escapes  out  of  the  cloud  to  the  ground.  A 
young  student  from  Hiuga  told  me  that  in  his  native  district  the  paw 
of  a  thunder-imp  that  fell  out  of  the  clouds  several  centuries  ago  is 
still  kept,  and  triumphantly  exhibited,  as  a  silencing  proof  to  all  skep- 
tics of  the  actual  occurrence  of  the  event  asserted  to  have  taken  place. 
Tradition  relates  that  a  sudden  storm  once  arose  in  the  district,  and 
that,  during  a  terrific  peal  of  thunder,  this  monster  leaped,  in  a  flash  of 
lightning,  down  a  well.  Instead,  however,  of  falling  directly  into  the 
water,  its  hind  paw  happened  to  get  caught  in  a  crack  of  the  split 
timber  of  the  wooden  well-curb,  and  was  torn  off  by  the  momentum 
of  the  descent.  This  paw  was  found  after  the  storm,  fresh  and 
bloody,  and  was  immediately  taken  to  be  preserved  for  the  edification 
of  future  generations.  It  is  not  known  whether  any  of  the  neighbors 
missed  a  cat  at  that  time ;  but  any  suggestions  of  such  an  irreverent 
theory  of  explanation  would  doubtless  be  met  by  the  keepers  of  the 
relic  with  lofty  scorn  and  pitying  contempt. 

One  of  the  miracle  figures  at  Asakusa,  in  Tokio,  until  1874  repre- 
sents a  noble  of  the  mikado's  court,  with  his  hand  on  the  throat, 
and  his  knee  planted  on  the  back  of  the  thunder-imp  that  lies  sprawl- 
ing, and  apparently  howling,  on  the  ground,  with  his  drums  broken 
and  scattered  about  him.  One  hairy  paw  is  stretched  out  impotent!  y 
before  him,  and  with  the  other  he  vainly  tries  to  make  his  conqueror 
release  his  hold.  The  expression  of  the  starting  eyes  of  the  beast 
shows  that  the  vise-like  grip  of  the  man  is  choking  him ;  his  nostrils 
gape,  and  from  his  mouth  extrude  sharp  teeth.  His  short  ears  are 
cocked,  and  his  body  is  hairy,  like  a  cat.  On  cacli  of  his  paws  are 
several  triangular  bayonet -shaped  claws.  The  human  figure  is  life- 
size  ;  the  thunder-cat  is  about  three  feet  from  crown  to  claws.  The 
creature  does  not  appear  to  have  any  tail.  This,  however,  is  no 
curtailment  of  his  feline  dignity,  since  most  of  the  Japanese  pussies 
have  caudal  appendages  of  but  one  or  two  inches  in  length,  and  many 
are  as  tailless  as  the  Darwinian  descendants  of  the  monkey.  This 
tableau  is  explained  as  follows  by  the  guide-book  to  the  exhibition: 


486  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

"  In  the  province  of  Yamato,  in  the  reign  of  Yuriyaku  Tenno,  when 
he  was  leaving  his  palace,  a  sudden  thunder-storm  of  terrific  violence 
arose.  The  mikado  ordered  Sugaru,  his  courtier,  to  catch  the  thun- 
der-imp. Sugaru  spurred  his  horse  forward  and  drove  the  thunder- 
god  to  the  side  of  Mount  Abe,  where  the  creature,  leaping  high  into 
the  air,  defied  the  attempts  of  his  pursuer.  Sugaru,  gazing  at  the 
sky,  cried  out  to  the  imp,  '  Obey  the  emperor !'  But  the  roll  of  the 
thunder  ceased  not  for  a  moment.  Then  Sugaru,  turning  his  face  to 
the  temple,  prayed  earnestly  to  Kuanon,  and  cried  out,  '  Dost  thou 
not  hear  and  protect  thy  faithful  ones  when  they  cry  unto  thee  ?'  Im- 
mediately, as  the  prayer  ended,  a  splendor  of  radiant  light  shot  out 
from  the  temple,  and  the  thunder -imp  fell  to  the  earth.  Sugaru 
seized  him  in  a  trice,  bound  him  securely,  and  took  him  to  the  em- 
peror's palace.  Then  all  men  called  him  the  '  god-catcher.'  " 

Decidedly,  the  animal  of  greatest  dimensions  in  the  mythical 
menagerie  or  aquarium  of  Japan  is  tliejishin  uwo,  or  "earthquake 
fish."  Concerning  the  whereabouts  and  haunts  of  this  monster,  there 
are  two  separate  opinions  or  theories,  held  respectively  by  the  dwell- 
ers on  the  coast  and  those  inland.  The  former  believe  that  the  jishin- 
uwo  is  a  submarine  monster,  whose  body  is  from  half  a  ri  to  one 
ri  in  length.  This  fish  strikes  the  shore  or  ocean-bottom  in  its  gam- 
bols or  in  its  wrath,  and  makes  the  ground  rock  and  tremble.  In 
times  of  great  anger  it  not  only  causes  the  solid  earth  to  quiver  and 
crack,  leveling  houses  in  ruin,  and  ingulfing  mountains,  but,  arching 
its  back,  piles  the  waters  of  the  ocean  into  that  sum  of  terror  and 
calamity — a  tidal  wave.  Among  the  people  in  the  interior,  however, 
the  theory  'obtains  that  there  exists  a  subterranean  fish  of  prodigious 
length.  According  to  some,  its  head  is  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
main  island,  the  place  of  fewest  and  lightest  earthquakes,  and  its  tail 
beneath  the  ground  that  lies  between  Tokio  and  Kioto.  Others  as- 
sert that  the  true  position  is  the  reverse  of  this.  The  motions  of  the 
monster  are  known  by  the  tremors  of  the  earth.  A  gentle  thrill 
means  that  it  is  merely  bristling  its  spines.  When  shocks  of  extraor- 
dinary violence  are  felt,  the  brute  is  on  a  rampage,  and  is  flapping  its 
flukes  like  a  wounded  whale. 

The  limits  of  this  chapter  forbid  any  long  description  of  the  less 
important  members  of  that  ideal  menagerie  to  which  I  have  played 
the  showman.  Not  a  few  instances  have  fallen  under  my  own  imme- 
diate notice  of  the  pranks  of  two  varieties  of  the  genus  tengti,  which 
to  the  learned  are  symbolical  of  the  male  and  female  essences  in 


THE  MYTHICAL  ZOOLOGY  OF  JAPAN. 


487 


Chinese  philosophy.  These  are  in  the  one  case  long-nosed,  and  in 
the  other  long-billed  goblins,  that  haunt  mountain  places  and  kidnap 
wicked  children.  Their  faces  are  found  in  street  shows,  in  picture- 
books,  on  works  of  art,  and  even  in  temples,  all  over  the  country. 
The  native  caricaturists  are  not  afraid  of  them,  and  the  funny  artist 
has  given  us  a  sketch  of  a  pair  who  are  putting  the  nasal  elongation 
to  a  novel  use,  in  carrying  the  lunches.  One  is  being  "  led  by  the 
nose,"  in  a  sense  <;vcn  stronger  than  the  English  idiom.  The  scrap 
of  text,  "hanami"  ("to  see  the  flowers"),  is  their  term  for  junketing  in 


Tengu  going  on  a  Picnic.    (Hokusai.) 


the  woods ;  but  the  hindmost  tengu  is  carrying  pleasure  to  the  verge 
of  pain,  since  he  has  to  hold  up  his  lunch-box*  with  his  right,  while  he 
carries  his  mat  to  sit  on  and  table-cloth  in  his  left  hand.  He  of  the 
beak  evidently  best  enjoys  the  fun  of  the  matter.  I  might  tell  of 
cats  which  do  not  exist  in  the  world  of  actual  observation,  which  have 
nine  tails,  and  torment  people,  and  of  those  other  double-tailed  felines 
which  appear  in  the  form  of  old  women.  A  tortoise  with  a  wide- 
fringed  tail,  which  lives  ten  thousand  years,  is  found  portrayed  on 
miscellaneous  works  of  art,  in  bronze,  lacquer-ware,  carved  work,  and 
in  silver,  and  especially  represented  as  the  emblem  of  longevity  at 


488  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

marriage  ceremonies.  The  mermaid  is  not  only  an  article  of  manufacv 
ure  by  nimble  -  fingered  native  taxidermists,  but  exists  in  the  belief  of 
the  Japanese  fishermen  as  certainly  as  it  does  not  exist  in  the  ocean. 

Among  the  miracle -figures  or  tableaux  at  Asakusa,  to  which  we 
have  already  referred,  is  one  representing  a  merman  begging  the 
prayers  of  a  pious  devotee.  The  Japanese  guide-book  says:  "One 
day  when  a  certain  Jogu  Taishi  was  passing  the  village  of  Ishidera,  a 
creature  with  a  head  like  a  human  being  and  a  body  like  a  fish  ap- 
peared to  him  out  of  the  rushes,  and  told  him  that  in  his  previous 
state  of  existence  he  had  been  very  fond  of  fishing.  Now,  being  born 
into  the  world  as  a  merman,  he  eagerly  desired  Jogu  Taishi  to  erect  a 
shrine  to  the  honor  of  Kuanon,  that  by  the  great  favor  and  mercy  of 
the  goddess  he  might  be  reborn  into  a  higher  form  of  life.  Accord- 
ingly, Jogu  Taishi  erected  a  shrine,  and  carved  with  his  own  hands  a 
thousand  images  of  Kuanon.  On  the  day  on  which  he  finished  the 
carving  of  the  last  image,  a  ten-jin  (angel)  appeared  to  him  and  said, 
'  By  your  benevolence  and  piety  I  have  been  born  into  the  regions  of 
heaven.' " 

Little  boys,  tempted  to  devour  too  much  candy,  are  frightened,  not 
with  prophecies  of  pain  or  threats  of  nauseous  medicines,  but  by  the 
fear  of  a  hideous  huge  worm  that  will  surely  be  produced  by  indul- 
gence in  sweets.  The  Japanese  bacchanals  are  called  shojo.  They  are 
people  who  live  near  the  sea,  of  long  red  hair,  bleared  eyes,  and  gaunt 
faces,  who  dance  with  wild  joy  before  a  huge  jar  of  sake.  On  picnic 
boxes,  sake  cups,  vases  and  jars  of  lacquered  work,  bronze,  or  porce- 
lain, these  mythical  topers,  with  the  implements  of  their  mirth  and  ex- 
cess, are  seen  represented.  The  associations  of  a  Japanese  child  who 
first  looks  upon  a  man  of  red  beard  or  hair  may  be  imagined.  So 
goes  through  all  ages  and  ranks  of  life  a  more  or  less  deep-rooted  ter- 
ror of  non-existent  monstrosities;  and  although  many  Japanese  people 
in  the  cities  and  towns  laugh  at  these  superstitions,  yet  among  the 
inaka,  or  country  people,  they  are  living  realities,  not  to  be  trifled 
with  or  defied.  In  company,  round  the  hearth,  one  fellow  may  be 
bold  enough  to  challenge  their  existence ;  but  at  night,  on  the  lonely 
road,  or  in  the  mountain  solitudes,  or  in  the  presence  of  nature's  more 
awful  phenomena,  the  boor,  the  child,  and  even  the  grown  men  who 
reason,  are  awed  into  belief  and  fear.  That  they  are  fading  away,  how- 
ever, year  by  year,  is  most  evident.  Science,  the  press,  education,  and 
Christianity  are  making  these  mythical  animals  extinct  species  in  the 
geology  of  belief. 


FOLK-LORE  AND  FIRESIDE  STORIES.  49] 


XIII. 

FOLK-LORE  AND  FIRESIDE  STORIES. 

THE  hibachi,  or  fire-brazier,  is  to  the  Japanese  household  what  the 
hearth  or  fire-place  is  in  an  Occidental  home.  Around  it  friends  meet, 
the  family  gathers,  parents  consult,  children  play,  the  cat  purrs,  and 
the  little  folks  listen  to  the  fairy  legends  or  household  lore  from  nurse 
or  gran  dame. 

I  have  often,  in  many  a  Japanese  home,  seen  children  thus  gathered 
round  the  hibachi,  absorbing  through  open  eyes  and  ears  and  mouth 
the  marvelous  stories  which  disguise  the  mythology,  philosophy,  and 
not  a  little  of  the  wisdom  of  the  world's  childhood.  Even  the  same 
world,  with  its  beard  grown,  finds  it  a  delight  to  listen  now  and  then 
to  the  old  wives'  fables,  and  I  propose  in  this  chapter  to  give  a  few  of 
the  many  short  stories  with  which  every  Japanese  child  is  familiar, 
and  which  I  have  often  heard  myself  from  children,  or  from  the  lips 
of  older  persons,  while  sitting  round  the  hibachi,  or  which  I  have  had 
written  for  me.  The  artist  Ozawa,  at  my  request,  sketched  such  a 
scene  as  I  have  often  looked  upon.  The  grandmother  has  drawn  the 
attention  of  her  infantile  audience  to  the  highest  tension  of  interest. 
Iron-bound  top,  picture-book,  mask  of  Suzume,  jumping-jack,  devil 
in  a  band-box,  and  all  other  toys  are  forgotten,  while  eyes  open  and 
mouths  gape  as  the  story  proceeds.  Besides  the  gayly  colored  little 
books,  containing  the  most  famous  stories  for  children,  there  are  nu- 
merous published  collections  of  tales,  some  of  which  are  centuries  old. 
Among  those  current  in  Japan  are  some  of  Indian,  Chinese,  and  per- 
haps of  other  origin. 

The  wonderful  story  of  "  Raiko  and  the  Oni "  is  one  of  the  most 
famous  in  the  collection  of  Japanese  grandmothers.  Its  power  to 
open  the  mouths  and  distend  the  oblique  eyes  of  the  youngsters  long 
after  bed-time,  is  unlimited.  I  have  before  me  a  little  stitched  book  of 
seven  leaves,  which  I  bought  among  a  lot  of  two  dozen  or  more  in  one 
of  the  colored  print  and  book  shops  in  Tokio.  It  is  four  inches  long 
and  three  wide.  On  the  gaudy  cover,  which  is  printed  in  seven  col- 


492  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

ors,  is  a  picture  of  Raiko,  the  hero,  in  helmet  and  armor,  grasping  in 
both  hands  the  faithful  sword  with  which  he  slays  the  ghoul  whose 
frightful  face  glowers  above  him.  The  hiragana  text  and  wood-cuts 
within  the  covers  are  greatly  worn,  showing  that  many  thousand  cop- 
ies have  been  printed  from  the  original  and  oft-retouched  face  of  the 
cherry-wood  blocks.  The  story,  thus  illustrated  with  fourteen  engrav- 
ings, is  as  follows : 

A  long  while  ago,  when  the  mikado's  power  had  slipped  away  into 
the  hands  of  his  regents,  the  guard  at  Kioto  was  neglected.  There 
was  a  rumor  in  the  city  that  oni,  or  demons,  frequented  the  streets  late 
at  night,  and  carried  off  people  bodily.  The  most  dreaded  place  was 
at  the  Ra-jo  gate,  at  the  south-western  entrance  to  the  palace.  Hither 
Watanabe,  by  order  of  Raiko,  the  chief  captain  of  the  guard,  started 
one  night,  well  armed.  Wearily  waiting  for  some  hours,  he  became 
drowsy,  and  finally  fell  asleep.  Seizing  his  opportunity,  the  wary 
demon  put  out  his  arm  from  behind  the  gate-post,  caught  Watanabe 
by  the  neck,  and  began  to  drag  him  up  in  the  air.  Watanabe  awoke, 
and  in  an  instant  seized  the  imp  by  the  wrist,  and,  drawing  his  sword, 
lopped  the  oni's  arms  off,  who  then  leaped  into  the  cloud,  howling  with 
pain.  In  the  morning  Watanabe  returned,  and  laid  the  trophy  at  his 
master's  feet.  It  is  said  that  an  oni's  limb  will  not  unite  again  if  kept 
apart  from  the  stump  for  a  week.  Watanabe  put  the  hairy  arm  in  a 
strong  stone  box,  wreathed  with  twisted  rice -straw,  and  watched  it 
day  and  night,  lest  the  oni  should  recover  it.  One  night  a  feeble 
knock  was  heard  at  his  door,  and  to  his  challenge  his  old  aunt's 
voice  replied.  Of  course,  he  let  the  old  woman  in.  She  praised  her 
nephew's  exploit,  and  begged  him  to  let  her  see  it.  Being  thus 
pressed,  as  he  thought,  by  his  old  aunty,  he  slid  the  lid  aside.  "  This 
is  my  arm,"  cried  the  hag,  as  she  flew  westward  into  the  sky,  chang- 
ing her  form  into  a  tusked  and  hairy  demon.  Tracing  the  oni's 
course,  Raiko  and  four  companions,  disguised  as  komuso  (wandering 
priests),  reached  the  pathless  mountain  Oye,  in  Tango,  which  they 
climbed.  They  found  a  beautiful  young  girl  washing  a  bloody  gar- 
ment. From  her  they  learned  the  path  to  the  oni's  cave,  and  that 
the  demons  eat  the  men,  and  saved  the  pretty  damsels  alive.  Ap- 
proaching, they  saw  a  demon  cook  carving  a  human  body,  to  make 
soup  of.  Entering  the  cave,  they  saw  Shu  ten  doji,  a  hideous,  tusked 
monster,  with  long  red  hair,  sitting  on  a  pile  of  silken  cushions,  with 
about  a  hundred  retainers  around  him,  at  a  feast.  Steaming  dishes 
were  brought  in,  full  of  human  limbs,  cooked  in  every  style.  The 


FOLK-LORE  AND  FIRESIDE  STORIES.  493 

young  damsels  had  to  serve  the  demons,  who  quaffed  sake  out  of 
human  skulls.  Raiko  and  his  band  pretended  to  join  in  the  orgies, 
and  amused  the  demons  by  a  dance,  after  which  they  presented  them 
with  a  bottle  of  sake  which  had  been  mixed  with  a  narcotic.  The 
chief  drank  a  skullful  and  gave  to  his  retainers.  Soon  all  the  demons 
were  asleep,  and  a  thunder-storm  of  snores  succeeded.  Then  Raiko 
and  his  men  threw  off  their  disguise,  drew  sword,  and  cut  off  their 
heads,  till  the  cave  flawed  blood  like  a  river.  The  neck  of  the  chief 
demon  was  wider  than  Raiko's  sword,  but  the  blade  miraculously 
lengthened,  and  Raiko  cut  the  monster's  head  off  at  one  sweep. 
They  then  destroyed  the  treasure,  released  all  the  prisoners,  and  re- 
turned to  Kioto  in  triumph,  exposing  the  huge  head  along  the  streets. 

The  red-haired,  red-faced,  or  red-bearded  aliens  in  Japan,  who  drink 
brandy  out  of  tumblers,  and  then  in  drunken  fury  roam  in  the  streets 
of  Yokohama  and  Nagasaki,  are  not  unfrequently  compared  to  the  in- 
toxicated monster  beheaded  by  Raiko.  The  Japanese  child  who  sees 
his  parents  indulge  in  sake  from  a  tiny  cup,  and  to  whom  black  eyes 
and  hair,  and  the  Japanese  form,  face,  and  dress  constitute  the  true 
standard,  is  amazed  at  the  great  size  of  the  mugs  and  drinking-glasses 
from  which  the  men  of  red  beards  and  faces  drink  a  liquid  ten  times 
stronger  than  sake.  Very  naturally,  to  the  Japanese  imagination  and 
memory  the  drunken  sailor  appears  a  veritable  shu  ten  doji.  Never- 
theless, the  Yokohama  coolie  does  not  call  him  by  so  classic  a  name. 
He  frames  a  compound  adjective  from  the  imprecation  which  most 
frequently  falls  from  the  sailor's  lips.  In  the  "Yokohama  dialect," 
the  word  for  sailor  is  dammuraisu  hito  ("d — n-your-eyes"  man). 

The  story  of  "  The  Monkey  and  the  Crab  "  has  as  many  versions  as 
that  of  "  The  Arkansas  Traveler."  It  is  continually  re-appearing  in 
new  dress  and  with  new  variations,  according  to  the  taste  and  abili- 
ties of  the  audience.  Its  flavor,  as  told  by  the  chaste  mother  instruct- 
ing her  daughters,  or  by  the  vulgar  coolie  amusing  his  fellow-loafers 
while  waiting  for  a  job,  is  vastly  different  in  cither  case.  The  most 
ordinary  form  of  the  story  is  as  follows : 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  crab  who  lived  in  a  hole  on  the 
shady  side  of  a  hill.  One  day  he  found  a  bit  of  rice-cake.  A  mon- 
key who  was  just  finishing  a  persimmon  met  the  crab,  and  offered  to 
exchange  its  seed  for  the  rice  cracknel.  The  simple-minded  crab  ac- 
cepted the  proposal,  and  the  exchange  was  made.  The  monkey  eat 
up  the  rice-cake,  but  the  crab  backed  off  home,  and  planted  the  seed 
in  his  garden. 


494  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

A  fine  tree  grew  up,  and  the  crab  was  delighted  at  the  prospect  of 
soon  enjoying  the  luscious  fruit.  He  built  a  nice  new  house,  and 
used  to  sit  on  the  balcony,  watching  the  ripening  persimmons.  One 
day  the  monkey  came  along,  and,  being  hungry,  congratulated  the 
crab  on  his  fine  tree,  and  begged  for  some  of  the  fruit,  offering  to 
climb  and  gather  it  himself.  The  crab  politely  agreed,  requesting  his 
guest  to  throw  down  some  of  the  fruit  that  he  might  enjoy  it  him- 
self. The  ungrateful  rascal  of  a  monkey  clambered  up,  and,  after 
filling  his  pockets,  cat  the  ripest  fruit  as  fast  las  he  could,  pelting  the 
crab  with  the  seeds.  The  crab  now  determined  to  outwit  the  mon- 
key, and,  pretending  to  enjoy  the  insults  as  good  jokes,  he  dared  the 
monkey  to  show  his  skill,  if  he  could,  by  descending  head  foremost. 
The  monkey,  to  show  how  versatile  were  his  accomplishments,  ac- 
cepted the  friendly  challenge,  and  turning  flank — not  tail — for  Japa- 
nese monkeys  have  no  tails — he  began  to  come  down  head  foremost. 
Of  course,  all  the  persimmons  rolled  out  of  his  pockets.  The  crab, 
seizing  the  ripe  fruit,  ran  off  to  his  hole.  The  monkey,  waiting  till 
he  had  crawled  out,  gave  him  a  sound  thrashing,  and  went  home. 

Just  at  that  time  a  rice-mortar  was  traveling  by  with  his  several  ap- 
prentices, a  wasp,  an  egg,  and  a  sea -weed.  After  hearing  the  crab's 
story,  they  agreed  to  assist  him.  Marching  to  the  monkey's  house, 
and  finding  him  out,  they  arranged  their  plans  and  disposed  their 
forces  so  as  to  vanquish  their  foe  on  his  return.  The  egg  hid  in  the 
ashes  on  the  hearth,  the  wasp  in  the  closet,  the  sea -weed  near  the 
door,  and  the  mortar  over  the  lintel.  When  the  monkey  came  home 
he  lighted  a  fire  to  steep  his  tea,  when  the  egg  burst,  and  so  bespat- 
tered his  face,  that  he  ran  howling  away  to  the  well  for  water  to  cool 
the  pain.  Then  the  wasp  flew  out  and  stung  him.  In  trying  to  drive 
off  this  fresh  enemy,  he  slipped  on  the  sea-weed,  and  the  rice-mortar, 
falling  on  him,  crushed  him  to  death.  Wasn't  that  splendid?  The 
wasp  and  the  mortar  and  sea-weed  lived  happily  together  ever  after- 
ward. 

The  moral  against  greedy  and  ungrateful  people  needs  no  pointing. 
In  one  of  the  recently  published  elementary  works  on  natural  philoso- 
phy, written  in  the  vernacular  of  Tokio,  I  have  seen  the  incident  of 
the  bursting  egg  utilized  to  illustrate  the  dynamic  power  of  heat  at 
the  expense  of  the  monkey.  Another  story,  used  to  feather  the  shaft 
aimed  at  greedy  folks,  is  that  of  the  elves  and  the  envious  neighbor. 
The  story  is  long,  but,  condensed,  is  as  follows : 

A  wood -cutter,  overtaken  by  a  storm  and  darkness  among  tho 


FOLK-LORE  AND  FIRESIDE  STORIES.  495 

mountains,  seeks  shelter  in  a  hollow  tree.  Soon  he  saw  little  creatures, 
some  of  a  red  color,  wearing  blue  clothes,  and  some  of  a  black  color, 
wearing  red  clothes.  Some  had  no  mouth ;  others  had  but  one  eye. 
There  were  about  one  hundred  of  them.  At  midnight  the  elves,  hav- 
ing lighted  a  fire,  began  to  dance  and  carouse,  and  the  man,  forgetting 
his  fright,  joined  them  and  began  to  dance.  Finding  him  so  jolly  a 
companion,  and  wishing  him  to  return  the  next  night,  they  took  from 
the  left  side  of  his  face  a  large  wen  that  disfigured  it,  as  pawn,  and 
disappeared.  The  next  day,  having  told  his  story  in  high  glee,  an 
envious  neighbor,  who  was  also  troubled  with  a  wen  on  the  right  side 
of  his  face,  resolved  to  possess  his  friend's  luck,  and  went  out  to  the 
same  place.  At  night  the  elves  assembled  to  drink  and  enjoy  a  jig. 
The  man  now  appeared,  and,  at  the  invitation  of  the  chief  elf,  began 
to  dance.  Being  an  awkward  fellow,  and  not  to  be  compared  with 
the  other  man,  the  elves  grew  angry,  and  said,  "  You  dance  very  bad- 
ly this  time.  Here,  you  may  have  your  pledge,  the  wen,  back  again." 
With  that  an  elf  threw  the  wen  at  the  man.  It  stuck  to  his  cheek, 
and  lie  went  home,  crying  bitterly,  with  two  wens  instead  of  one. 

Stories  of  cats,  rabbits,  dogs,  monkeys,  and  foxes,  who  are  born, 
pass  through  babyhood,  are  nursed,  watched,  and  educated  by  anxious 
parents  with  all  due  moral  and  religious  training,  enjoy  the  sports 
proper  to  their  age,  fall  in  love,  marry,  rear  a  family,  and  live  happy 
ever  afterward  to  a  green  old  age,  form  the  staple  of  the  tiny  picture- 
books  for  tiny  people.  When  told  by  garrulous  nurses  or  old  gran- 
nies, the  story  becomes  a  volume,  varied  and  colored  from  rich  imagi- 
nation or  actual  experience. 

A  great  many  funny  stories  are  told  about  blind  men,  who  are  often 
witty  wags.  They  go  about  feeling  their  way  with  a  staff,  and  blow- 
ing a  double -barreled  whistle  which  makes  a  peculiarly  ugly  noise. 
They  shave  their  heads,  and  live  by  shampooing  tired  travelers  at 
hotels,  or  people  who  like  to  be  kneaded  like  a  sponge  or  dough. 
They  also  loan  out  money  at  high  rates  of  interest,  public  sympathy 
being  their  sure  guard  against  loss.  Even  among  these  men  the  spirit 
of  caste  and  rank  prevails,  and  the  chief  blind  man  of  a  city  or  town 
usually  holds  an  official  diploma.  On  the  occasion  of  such  an  award 
the  bald-pates  enjoy  a  feast  together  After  imbibing  freely,  they 
sing  songs,  recite  poetry,  and  crack  jokes,  like  merry  fellows  with 
eyes,  and  withal,  at  them  because  having  eyes,  some  can  not  see — to 
read.  Here  is  a  sample.  An  illiterate  country  gawk,  while  in  the 
capital,  saw  a  learned  man  reading  with  eyeglasses  on.  Thereupon, 


496  THE  MIKADO1 8  EM  PI  HE. 

he  hastened  to  an  optician's,  and  bought  a  pair.     lie  was  both  an- 
noyed and  surprised  to  find  lie  could  not  make  out  a  word. 

A  story  is  told  of  two  men  who  were  stone-deaf,  who  met  together 
one  morning,  when  the  following  dialogue  took  place : 

First  Post.  "  Good-morning.     Are  you  going  to  buy  sake  ?" 

Second  Post.  "  No.     I  am  going  to  buy  sake." 

Third  Post.  "  Oh,  excuse  me,  I  thought  you  were  going  to  buy 
sake." 

I  heard  the  following  story  from  one  of  my  students  from  Fukui. 
It  is  a  favorite  with  the  professional  story-tellers  in  Tokio.  It  reminds 
one  of  the  Spaniard  who  is  said  to  have  put  on  magnifying  spectacles 
while  eating  grapes,  or  the  Yankee  who  strapped  green  eyeglasses  on 
his  horse  while  feeding  him  on  shavings : 

A  very  economical  old  fellow,  named  Kisaburo,  once  took  lodgings 
near  a  shop  to  which  the  elite  of  the  epicures  of  Yedo  resorted  daily 
for  the  delicacy  of  eels  fried  in  soy.  The  appetizing  odor  was  wafted 
into  his  quarters,  and  Kisaburo,  being  a  man  of  strong  imagination, 
daily  enjoyed  his  frugal  meal  of  boiled  rice  by  his  palate,  and  the  sa- 
vory smoke  of  eels  through  his  olfactories,  and  thus  saved  the  usual 
expense  of  fish  and  vegetables. 

The  eel-frier,  on  discovering  this,  made  up  his  mind  to  charge  his 
stingy  neighbor  for  the  smell  of  his  eels,  and  paid  him  a  visit  with 
his  bill  made  out.  Kisaburo,  taking  it  in  good  humor,  called  his  wife, 
who  brought  out  the  cash-box.  After  jingling  the  bag  of  money,  he 
touched  it  on  the  bill,  and  replacing  it  in  the  box  under  lock,  ordered 
his  wife  to  return  it  to  its  place.  The  eel-man,  amazed  at  such  finan- 
ciering, cried  out,  "  Well,  are  you  not  going  to  pay  me  ?"  "  Oh  no  !" 
said  Kisaburo,  "  you  have  charged  me  for  the  smell  of  your  eels ;  I 
have  paid  you  back  with  the  sound  of  my  money." 

A  story  very  similar  to  this,  which  I  have  transcribed  as  I  heard  it, 
is  given  by  Rabelais,  Third  Book,  thirty-seventh  chapter. 

Stories  illustrating  the  freaks  of  absent-minded  men  are  very  nu 
merous.  Here  is  one,  told  me  by  a  village  lad  from  near  Takefu,  ir 
Echizen.  A  farmer's  wife  about  to  enjoy  the  blessing  of  addition  to 
her  family  besought  her  husband  to  visit  a  famous  shrine  of  Kuan- 
on,  the  Goddess  of  Mercy,  and  make  an  offering  and  pray  for  easy 
deliverance  of  her  offspring.  The  good  wife  packed  up  a  lunch  for 
her  husband  in  a  box  of  lacquered  wood,  and  took  out  one  hundred 
cash  (about  one  and  a  half  cents)  from  their  hoard,  which  was  kept  in 
an  old  bag  made  of  rushes,  in  a  jar  under  the  floor,  as  a  gift  to  be 


FOLK -LOBE  AND  FIRESIDE  STORIES.  497 

thrown  into  the  temple  coffer  to  propitiate  the  deity.  At  early  morn 
the  man  prepared  to  start,  but  in  a  fit  of  absent-mindedness,  instead  of 
his  lunch-box,  he  took  the  pillow  (a  Japanese  pillow  is  often  a  box  of 
drawers  holding  the  requisites  of  a  woman's  coiffure,  with  a  tiny  bol- 
ster on  the  top),  and,  carefully  wrapping  it  up,  set  off,  and  in  due 
time  arrived  at  the  shrine.  Now,  the  husband  was  less  devout  than  his 
spouse,  and,  being  ten  miles  away  from  her  tongue  and  eye,  he  decided 
to  throw  but  ten  cash  into  the  sacred  coffers,  and  spend  the  remaining 
ninety  on  a  bottle  of  sake,  to  be  served  by  a  pretty  waiter-girl  at  the 
adjoining  tea-house.  So  he  divided  his  money  into  two  packages,  but 
in  his  absent-mindedness  he  unintentionally  flung  the  larger  amount 
into  the  temple  box.  Annoyed  on  discovering  his  bad  luck,  he  offered 
his  prayers  in  no  very  holy  frame  of  mind,  and  then  sat  down  to  en- 
joy his  lunch.  Not  being  able  to  eat  the  hair-pins,  pomatum,  etc.,  in 
the  pillow-box,  he  made  his  way  to  an  eating-shop  to  buy  a  bit  of 
mochi  (rice-dough)  to  satisfy  his  hunger.  Again  his  greed  and  absent- 
mindedness  led  him  to  grief,  for,  seeing  a  large  round  piece  of  what  he 
thought  was  good  dough  for  short-cake  for  only  five  cash,  lie  bought 
it  and  hurried  of,  thinking  the  shop-girl  had  made  a  mistake,  which 
she  would  soon  discover  at  her  cost.  When  he  went  to  eat  it,  how- 
ever, he  found  it  was  only  a  plaster  show-piece  for  the  dough.  Chew- 
ing the  cud  of  bitter  reflections,  the  hungry  man  at  dark  reached,  as 
he  supposed,  his  home  ;  and  seeing,  as  he  thought,  his  wife  lighting  a 
lantern,  greeted  her  with  a  box  on  the  ear.  The  woman,  startled  at 
such  conduct,  screamed,  bringing  her  husband  to  her  relief,  and  the 
absent-minded  man,  now  recovering  his  senses  again,  ran  for  his  life ; 
but  when  beyond  danger  he  relapsed  into  his  old  habits,  and  reaching 
his  own  dwelling,  found  himself  begging  pardon  of  his  own  amazed 
wife  for  having  boxed  her  ears. 

One  of  the  many  tales  of  filial  revenge  (see  page  222)  told  to  chil- 
dren is  that  of  "  the  Soga  boys."  In  the  time  of  Yoritomo,  while  on 
a  hunt  in  the  mountains,  one  Kudo  shot  and  killed  Kawadzu.  Of  the 
slain  man's  two  sons,  one  was  sent  to  a  monastery  in  the  Hakone 
mountains,  to  be  educated  for  the  Buddhist  priesthood.  There,  as  he 
grew  up,  he  learned  all  about  the  death  of  his  father,  and  who  his 
murderer  was.  From  that  time,  he  thought  of  nothing  but  how  to 
compass  his  death.  Meanwhile,  the  other  son  was  adopted  by  one 
Soga,  and  became  a  skillful  fencer.  At  Oiso,  on  the  Tokaido,  the 
two  orphans  finally  meet,  lay  their  plans,  feast  together,  and  prepare 
to  join  the  great  hunt  of  Yoritomo  on  the  slopes  of  Mount  Fuji.  On 


498  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

the  niglit  after,  they  attack  the  quarters  where  the  tired  Kudo  lies 
asleep.  They  beat  down  the  servants  who  try  to  defend  him,  and 
sate  their  revenge  by  cutting  off  his  head. 

Of  foxes  and  badgers  I  have  written  elsewhere.  I  have  in  this 
chapter  of  folk-lore,  given  only  a  few  specimens  from  a  great  store- 
house. This  last  is  called  "  The  Boy  of  Urashima." 

In  the  reign  of  the  Empress  Suiko  (A.D.  593-628)  there  lived,  on  * 
small  island  off  the  coast  of  Tango,  a  poor  fisherman  and  his  wife. 
Though  too  poor  to  provide  more  than  the  barest  necessaries  of  life, 
they  managed,  being  pious  folks,  to  keep  the  lamp  always  burning  in 
the  shrine  of  Riu  Jin,  the  sea-god,  their  patron.  Niglit  and  morn- 
ing they  offered  up  their  prayers,  and,  though  their  meals  might  be 
scanty,  they  never  failed  to  burn  a  stick  of  incense  at  the  shrine. 

To  this  good  couple  a  dear  son  was  born,  who  grew  up  to  be  pious 
and  dutiful,  and  to  be  the  staff  of  his  aged  parents.  When  they  were 
too  old  to  go  out  to  fish,  Taro,  the  son,  caught  enough  fish  to  sup- 
port himself  and  them.  Now,  it  happened  that  one  day  in  autumn 
Taro  was  out,  as  usual,  in  his  boat,  though  the  sea  was  rough  and  the 
waves  high.  The  increasing  storm  finally  compelled  him  to  seek  shel- 
ter in  his  hut.  He  uttered  a  prayer  to  the  sea-god,  and  turned  his 
prow  homeward.  Suddenly  there  appeared,  on  the  crest  of  the  waves, 
a  divine  being,  robed  in  white,  riding  upon  a  large  tortoise.  Approach- 
ing the  wearied  fisherman,  he  greeted  him  kindly,  and  said,  "  Follow 
me,  and  I  will  make  you  a  happy  man." 

Taro,  leaving  his  boat,  and  mounting  the  tortoise  with  his  august 
companion,  the  tortoise  sped  away  with  marvelous  celerity ;  and  on 
they  journeyed  for  three  days,  passing  some  of  the  most  wonderful 
sights  human  being  ever  beheld.  There  were  ponds  of  perfectly 
transparent  water  filled  with  the  fish  he  daily  caught,  and  others  with 
strange  species.  The  roads  were  lined  with  rare  and  fragrant  trees 
laden  with  golden  fruit,  and  flowers  more  beautiful  than  he  had  ever 
seen  or  imagined.  Finally,  they  came  to  a  great  gate  of  white  mar- 
ble, of  rare  design  and  imposing  proportion.  Richly  dressed  ladies 
and  pages  were  waiting  to  welcome  him.  He  entered  a  golden  pa- 
lanquin, and  amidst  trains  of  courtiers  was  borne  to  the  palace  of 
the  king,  and  treated  with  honor  and  courtesy.  The  splendors  of 
this  palace  it  is  not  possible  to  describe  in  the  language  of  earth. 
Taro  was  assigned  to  one  of  the  fairest  apartments,  and  beautiful  girls 
waited  upon  him,  and  a  host  of  servants  were  ready  to  do  his  bid- 
ding. Feasts,  music,  songs,  dancing,  gay  parties,  were  given  in  his  hon- 


FOLK-LORE  AND  FIRESIDE  STORIES.  490 

or.  Many  of  the  people  around  him  seemed  very  remarkable  beings. 
Some  had  heads  made  of  shells,  some  of  coral.  All  the  lovely  colors 
of  nacre,  the  rarest  tints  which  man  can  see  beneath  the  deep-blue 
sea  when  the  ocean's  floor  is  visible,  appeared  on  their  dresses  and  or- 
naments. Their  jewels  of  pearls  and  precious  stones  and  gold  and 
silver  were  profuse,  but  wrought  in  exquisite  art.  Taro  could  scarce- 
ly tell  whether  the  fascinating  creatures  were  human  or  not;  but  he 
was  very  happy,  and  his  hosts  so  kind  that  he  did  not  stop  to  notice 
their  peculiarities.  That  he  was  in  fairy -land  he  knew,  for  such 
wealth  was  never  seen,  even  in  king's  palaces,  on  earth. 

After  Taro  had  spent,  as  he  supposed,  seven  days  at  the  king's  pal- 
ace, he  wished  to  go  and  see  his  parents.  He  felt  it  was  wrong  to  be 
so  happy  when  he  was  uncertain  of  their  fate  in  the  upper  world. 
The  king  allowed  his  request,  and,  on  parting  with  him,  gave  him  a 
box.  "  This,"  said  he,  "  I  give  you  on  condition  that  you  never  open 
it,  nor  show  it  to  any  one,  under  any  circumstances  whatever."  Taro, 
wondering,  received  it,  and  bid  adieu  to  the  king.  He  was  escorted 
to  the  white  marble  gate,  and,  mounting  the  same  tortoise,  reached  the 
spot  where  he  had  left  his  boat.  The  tortoise  then  left  him. 

Taro  was  all  alone.  He  looked  round,  and  saw  nothing  on  the 
strand.  The  mountains  and  rocks  were  familiar,  but  no  trace  of  his 
parents'  hut  was  seen.  He  began  to  make  inquiries,  and  finally  learn- 
ed from"  an  old  gray -headed  fisherman  that,  centuries  before,  the  per- 
sons he  described  as  his  parents  had  lived  there,  but  had  been  buried 
so  long  ago  that  their  names  could  be  read  only  by  scraping  the  moss 
and  lichens  off  the  very  oldest  stones  of  the  grave-yard  in  the  valley 
yonder.  Thither  Taro  hied,  and  after  long  search  found  the  tomb  of 
his  dear  parents.  He  now,  for  the  first  time  since  he  had  left  his 
boat — as  he  thought,  a  few  days  ago — felt  the  pangs  of  sorrow.  He 
felt  an  irresistible  longing  to  open  the  box.  He  did  so.  A  purple 
vapor,  like  a  cloud,  issued  and  suffused  his  head  for  a  moment.  A 
cold  shiver  ran  through  him.  He  tried  to  rise;  his  limbs  were  stiff 
and  bent.  His  face  was  wrinkled ;  his  teeth  dropped  out ;  his  limbs 
irembled ;  he  was  an  old  man,  with  the  weight  of  four  centuries  on 
him.  His  infirmities  were  too  great  for  flesh  to  bear ;  he  died  a  few 
days  afterward. 

I  have  given  the  story  as  it  was  current  in  Echizen.  I  have  also 
heard  it  told  with  the  location  on  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Yedo. 
Another  version  makes  the  strand  of  a  river  in  Shinano  the  place  of 
Taro's  departure  and  return.  In  another  form  of  the  story,  Tftw  re- 


500 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


turns  to  find  his  parents  dwelling  in  a  glorious  mansion.  After  greet- 
ings are  over,  the  old  folks  are  curious  to  know  what  the  box  con- 
tains. Taro,  persuaded,  opens  it,  to  find  himself,  alone  and  old,  on  a 
desolate  shore.  The  story  is  undoubtedly  very  old.  It  is  found  in 
several  books,  and  has  been  often  made  the  subject  of  art.  The  fish- 
ermen in  various  parts  of  Japan  worship  the  good  boy  of  Urashirna, 
who,  even  in  the  palaces  of  the  sea-gods,  forgot  not  his  old  parents. 

The  four  following  stories  are  a  few  of  many  told  of  a  famous 
judge,  named  Oka,  who,  for  wisdom,  shrewdness,  and  judicial  acumen, 
may  be  called  the  Solomon  of  Japan.  I  first  heard  of  his  wondrous 
decisions  when  in  Tokio,  but  there  is  a  book  of  anecdotes  of  him,  and 
a  record  of  his  decisions,  called  the  Oka  Jinseidan.  I  suppose  they 
are  true  narrations. 

A  certain  man  possessed  a  very  costly  pipe,  made  of  silver  inlaid 
with  gold,  of  which  he  was  very  proud.  One  day  a  thief  stole  it. 
After  some  vain  search,  Oka  heard  that  a  man  in  a  certain  street  had 
such  a  pipe,  but  it  was  not  certain  whether  it  was  his  own  or  the 
stolen  article.  He  found  out  the  truth  concerning  the  pipe  in  the 
following  mox'iiious  manner. 


Japanese  Pipe  of  Bamboo  and  Brass,  Pipe-case,  and  Tobacco-pouch. 


A  Japanese  pipe  is  usually  made  of  a  tiny  bowl,  or  bowl-piece,  fit- 
ted to  a  mouth-piece  with  a  bamboo  tube.  Sometimes  all  the  parts 
are  in  one,  the  material  being  metal  or  porcelain.  The  mild  tobacco, 
cut  into  finest  shreds,  like  gossamer,  is  rolled  up  in  pellets,  and  lighted 
at  a  live  coal  in  the  brazier.  After  one  or  two  whiffs,  a  fresh  ball  is 


FOLK-LORE  AND  Fl&ESIDJS'.SlTdf&jRS:,'  "501 


introduced.  A  native  will  thus  sit  by  tlte  hoiir/jmocyW/ieaily 
up  these  tobacco  pills,  utterly  oblivious  of  the  details  of  the  act.  Like 
certain  absent-minded  people,  who  look  at  their  watches  a  dozen  times, 
yet  can  not  tell,  when  asked,  what  time  it  may  be,  so  a  Japanese,  while 
talking  at  ease,  will  often  be  unable  to  remember  whether  he  has 
smoked  or  not.  After  long  mechanical  practice,  his  nimble  fingers 
with  automatic  precision  roll  the  pellet  to  a  size  that  exactly  fills  the 
bowl  of  the  pipe. 

The  shrewd  judge  found  an  opportunity  to  see  the  suspected  man  a 
short  time  after  the  theft.  He  noticed  him  draw  out  the  golden  pipe, 
and  abstractedly  roll  up  a  globule  of  tobacco  from  his  pouch.  It  was 
too  small.  On  turning  to  the  brazier,  and  turning  the  mouth  of  the 
bowl  sideward  or  downward,  the  pellet  rolled  out.  Here  was  positive 
proof  to  Oka  that  the  golden  pipe  was  not  his  own.  The  thief,  on  be- 
ing charged  with  the  theft,  confessed  his  guilt,  and  was  punished. 

On  another  occasion  a  seller  of  pickled  vegetables  of  various  sorts, 
a  miserly  old  fellow,  being  rich,  and  fearing  thieves,  kept  his  gold  in 
a  deep  dish  full  of  dai-kon  (radishes),  preserved  in  a  liquid  mixture 
composed  of  their  own  fermented  juice,  salt,  and  the  skin  of  rice- 
grains.  When  long  kept,  the  mass  has  a  most  intolerable  odor,  and 
to  remove  the  smell  from  the  hands  after  working  in  it  stout  scrub- 
bing with  ashes  is  necessary.  Now,  it  so  happened  that  one  of  the 
neighbor's  found  out  the  whereabouts  of  the  pickler's  savings,  and, 
when  his  back  was  turned,  stole.  The  old  pickler  kept  his  heart  at 
the  bottom  of  his  radishes,  and  on  his  return,  on  examination,  found 
his  treasure  gone.  Forthwith  informing  the  judge,  Oka  called  in  all 
the  neighbors,  and,  after  locking  the  doors,  began,  to  the  amazement  of 
all  and  the  horror  of  one,  to  smell  the  hands  of  those  present.  The 
unmistakable  odor  of  dai-kon  clung  to  one  man,  who  thereupon  con- 
fessed, disgorged,  and  received  punishment. 

Cases  which  other  judges  failed  to  decide  were  referred  to  Oka. 
Often  the  very  threat  of  bringing  a  suspected  man  before  this  Solomon 
secured  confession  after  other  means  had  failed. 

A  young  mother,  being  poor,  was  obliged  to  go  out  to  service,  and 
to  leave  her  little  daughter  at  the  house  of  another  woman  to  bring 
up  for  her.  When  the  child  grew  up  to  womanhood,  the  mother  was 
able  to  leave  service,  expecting  to  live  with  her  daughter,  and  enjoy 
her  love.  To  her  surprise,  on  going  to  the  house  of  the  woman  who 
had  charge  of  her  daughter,  the  woman  claimed  the  girl  as  her  own 
child,  and  refused  to  give  her  up. 


502-  ;  }£li-E  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

,  When  trough' tiibefope  Oka,  there  being  no  evidence  but  the  con- 
flicting testimony  of  the  women,  who  both  claimed  maternity,  the 
judge  ordered  them  each  to  take  hold  of  an  arm  of  the  young  girl 
and  pull.  Whoever  was  the  strongest  should  have  her. 

Not  daring  to  disobey,  the  true  mother  reluctantly  took  gentle 
hold,  while  the  other  claimant  seized  a  hand,  and,  bracing  herself  for 
the  struggle,  pulled  with  all  her  might.  No  sooner  did  the  girl  utter 
a  cry  of  pain  than  the  true  mother  dropped  her  hand,  refusing  to  try 
again.  Her  friends  urged  her  to  continue  the  trial,  and  her  antago- 
nist dared  her  to  go  on,  but  the  mother  was  firm.  The  judge,  silent 
and  attentive  the  while,  then  angrily  addressed  the  cruel  woman  as  a 
deceiver,  void  of  all  maternal  feeling,  who  regarded  not  the  pain  of 
her  pretended  offspring.  He  then  ordered  the  girl  to  be  restored  to 
her  true  mother.  The  false  claimant  was  dismissed  in  disgrace. 
Mother  and  child  were  overjoyed,  and  the  witnesses  astonished  at 
such  judicial  wisdom. 

In  another  case,  a  rich  merchant  of  Yedo  went  to  Kioto  on  busi- 
ness, and  was  absent  thirteen  months.  On  his  return  he  found  that 
his  wife  had  been  unfaithful  to  him.  After  fruitless  efforts  to  extort 
her  secret  and  find  her  paramour,  he  went  to  Oka.  On  a  certain  day, 
all  the  male  relations,  friends,  and  neighbors  assembled,  and,  one  by 
one,  were  called  into  the  judgment -hall,  and  questioned.  Oka  told 
the  husband  to  bring  with  him  his  cat,  which  had  for  years  been  a 
pet  in  the  house.  With  the  cat  quietly  nestled  at  his  side,  he  leisurely 
questioned  each  person.  No  clue  could  be  obtained,  until  one  young 
man  appeared  and  took  his  seat,  as  usual,  on  his  heels  and  knees,  on 
the  matting.  The  cat,  now  interested,  ran  briskly  up,  rubbed  itself 
against  his  knees,  and,  being  stroked  by  the  man,  finally  climbed  up  in 
his  lap,  and  cuddled  itself  up  as  if  perfectly  familiar  with  that  comfort- 
able place.  All  this  time  the  young  man  was  looking  in  the  judge's 
face,  and  answering  his  questions,  forgetful  of  the  cat.  The  question- 
ing being  finished,  the  judge  ordered  the  officers  to  bind  the  man  and 
conduct  him  to  prison.  The  man,  who  was  inwardly  congratulating 
himself  on  his  clever  answers,  and  his  freedom  even  from  suspicion, 
thought  Oka  was  helped  by  the  gods,  and  confessed  his  crime. 

I  have  an  ivory  and  a  wood  carving,  both  nitsuki,  representing  the 
Japanese  form  of  the  story  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  which  is,  perhaps, 
a  universal  myth.  The  ivory  figure  is  that  of  an  old  man  leaning  on 
the  handle  of  an  axe.  His  hair  is  long  and  white,  and  his  snowy  beard 
sweeps  his  breast  and  falls  below  his  girdle.  He  is  intently  watching 


FOLK-LORE  AND  FIRESIDE  KTO1UEH.  503 

two  female  figures  playing  a  game  of  checkers.  The  story  (of  Chinese 
origin)  is,  as  told  by  Japanese  story-tellers,  as  follows : 

Lu-wen  was  a  pious  wood-cutter,  who  dwelt  at  the  base  of  the  ma- 
jestic and  holy  mountain  Tendai,  the  most  glorious  peak  of  the  Nan- 
lin  range,  in  China.  Though  he  thought  himself  familiar  with  the 
paths,  he  for  some  reason  one  day  lost  his  way,  and  wandered  about, 
having  his  axe  with  him.  He  did  not  care,  however,  because  the 
beauty  of  the  landscapes,  the  flowers,  and  the  sky  seemed  to  possess 
his  senses,  and  he  gave  himself  up  to  the  ecstasy  of  the  hour,  enjoy- 
ing all  the  pleasant  emotions  of  holy  contemplation.  All  at  once  he 
heard  a  crackling  sound,  and  immediately  a  fox  ran  out  before  him 
and  into  the  thickets  again.  The  wood -cutter  started  to  pursue  it. 
He  ran  some  distance,  when  suddenly  he  emerged  into  a  space  where 
two  lovely  ladies,  seated  on  the  ground,  were  engaged  in  playing  a 
game  of  checkers.  The  bumpkin  stood  still  and  gazed  with  all  his 
sight  at  the  wonderful  vision  of  beauty  before  him.  The  players  ap- 
peared to  be  unaware  of  the  presence  of  an  intruder.  The  wood-cut- 
ter still  stood  looking  on,  and  soon  became  interested  in  the  game 
as  well  as  in  the  fair  players.  After  some  minutes,  as  he  supposed, 
he  bethought  himself  to  return.  On  attempting  to  move  away,  his 
limbs  felt  very  stiff,  and  his  axe-handle  fell  to  pieces.  Stooping  down 
to  pick  up  the  worm  -  eaten  fragments,  he  was  amazed  to  find,  instead 
of  his  shaven  face  of  the  morning,  a  long  white  beard  covering  his 
bosom,  while,  on  feeling  his  head,  he  discovered  on  it  a  mass  of  silken 
white  hair. 

The  wrinkled  old  man,  now  dazed  with  wonder,  hobbled  down  the 
mountain  to  his  native  village.  He  found  the  streets  the  same,  but 
the  houses  were  filled  with  new  faces ;  crowds  of  children  gathered 
round  him,  teasing  and  laughing  at  him ;  the  dogs  barked  at  the 
stranger ;  and  the  parents  of  the  children  shook  their  heads  and  won- 
dered among  themselves  as  to  whence  the  apparition  had  come.  The 
old  man,  in  agony  of  despair,  asked  for  his  wife  and  children  and 
relatives.  The  incredulous  people  set  him  down  as  a  fool,  knowing 
nothing  of  whom  he  asked,  and  treating  his  talk  as  the  drivel  of  luna- 
tic senility.  Finally,  an  old  grandam  hobbled  up,  and  said  she  was 
a  descendant  of  the  seventh  generation  of  a  man  named  Lu-wen. 
The  old  man  groaned  aloud,  and,  turning  his  back  on  all,  retraced  his 
weary  steps  to  the  mountain  again.  He  Avas  never  heard  of  more,  and 
it  is  believed  he  entered  into  the  company  of  the  immortal  hermits 
and  spirits  of  the  mountain. 


504  TM-H  MIKADO; s  EMPIRE. 


XIV. 

JAPANESE  PROVERBS. 

THE  proverbs  of  a  nation  are  mirrors  of  its  character.  Not  only 
the  genius  and  wit,  but  the  prejudices,  the  loves,  the  hates,  the  stand- 
ards of  actions  and  morals,  are  all' faithfully  reflected  in  the  condensed 
wisdom  of  their  pithy  phrases.  Most  proverbs  are  of  anonymous  au- 
thorship. "  The  wisdom  of  many  and  the  wit  of  one,"  a  proverb  is 
saved  from  death  because  clothed  in  brevity,  rhythm,  or  alliteration. 
Every  man  hails  it  as  his  own,  because  he  recognizes  his  own  heart  in 
it.  Proverbs  are  often  tell-tale  truths,  for  a  nation  sometimes  out- 
grows its  prejudices  and  becomes  ashamed  of  its  own  familiar  beliefs. 
Proverbs  thus  become  the  labels  of  antiquities  in  the  museum  of 
speech.  They  are  fossils  which  show  how  opinions  which  had  life 
and  force  long  ago  are  now  defunct  and  forgotten.  Unexplainable 
to  latter  generations,  they,  as  the  fossils  of  geology  once  were,  arc 
thought  to  be  lusus  naturae. 

The  dclver  among  the  treasures  of  Japanese  lore  finds  proverbs  both 
new  and  old,  and  in  them  sees  ancient  landmarks  and  modern  finger- 
posts. 

The  proverbs  of  a  nation  so  long  isolated  from  the  world  must 
needs  have  peculiar  interest  to  the  rest  of  that  world.  We  shall  see 
in  most  of  them,  however,  the  clear  reflection  of  that  human  heart 
which  beats  responsive  beneath  the  toga,  the  camel's-hair  raiment,  the 
broadcloth,  and  the  silk  haori. 

It  has  often  been  a  delightful  feeling,  when  stumbling  upon  some 
untranslatable  but  tickling  morsel  of  wisdom,  to  reach  its  heart  by 
quoting  one  of  our  own  homely  and  pretty  proverbs.  Many  of  our 
old  friends  may  be  recognized  in  Japanese  costume.  Nothing  so 
touches  the  Japanese  heart  and  nature  as  the  unexpected  quotation  of 
one  of  their  old  proverbs.  Especially  in  the  lecture-room  does  it  give 
point  and  clinching  force  to  a  statement  or  explanation.  When  be- 
fore his  class,  the  teacher  sees  no  response  or  sympathy  in  the  earnest 


JAPANESE  PROVERBS.  505 

but  stolid  faces  of  his  Japanese  pupils,  and  when  every  chosen  arrow 
flies  the  mark,  let  a  shaft  feathered  with  one  of  their  own  proverbs  be 
scut :  instantly  a  gleam  of  intelligence,  like  a  sunburst,  or  an  assuring 
peal  of  merry  laughter,  proclaims  the  centre  struck  and  success  won. 

I  shall  arrange  together  a  few  of  the  most  familiar  of  Japanese 
proverbs.  Lest  some  might  think  the  Japanese  plagiarize  from  us,  or 
lest  some  "  resemblance  "-monger  should  catch  a  few  to  put  in  his  "  In- 
dex Rerum,"  or  "  familiar  quotations,"  I  would  remark  that,  apparent- 
ly, many  of  these  proverbs  were  current  in  Japan  before  Caesar  was 
born  or  America  discovered. 

The  following  are  expressions  for  what  is  impossible :  To  build  a 
bridge  to  the  clouds.  To  throw  a  stone  at  the  sun.  To  scatter  a  fog 
with  a  fan.  To  dip  up  the  ocean  with  the  hand. 

Like  our  "  No  rose  without  a  thorn,"  is  their  There's  a  thorn  on 
the  rose. 

Good  doctrine  needs  no  miracles,  is  the  Japanese  rationalist's  arrow 
against  the  Buddhist  bonzes. 

The  fly  seeks  out  the  diseased  spot,  as  people  do  in  their  neighbors' 
character. 

As  different  as  the  moon  is  from  a  tortoise.  (Cheese,  green  or  oth- 
erwise, is  not  made  or  eaten  by  the  Japanese.) 

The  natives  of  the  Islands  in  the  Four  Seas  are  better  boatmen  than 
cooks,  too  many  of  whom  spoil  the  broth,  but,  With  too  many  boat- 
men, the  boat  runs  up  a  hill. 

The  universal  reverence  of  youth  for  age  is  enjoined  in  this :  Regard 
an  old  man  as  thy  father. 

The  fortune-teller  can  not  tell  his  own  fortune. 

The  doctor  does  not  keep  himself  well. 

Some  men  can  do  more  than  Goldsmith's  school-master :  They  can 
argue  until  a  crow's  head  becomes  white. 

A  narrow-minded  man  or  bigot  looks  at  the  heavens  through  a  reed, 
or  a  needle's  eye. 

Our  "  cat  in  a  strange  garret "  is  metamorphosed  into  the  more 
dignified  figure  of  A  hermit  in  the  market-place. 

The  dilatory  man  seeing  the  lion,  begins  to  whet  his  arrows.  The 
beaten  soldier  fears  even  the  tops  of  the  tall  grass.  Fighting  spar- 
rows fear  not  man. 

Only  a  tidbit  to  a  ravenous  mouth.  (Said  when  the  little  tidbit 
Denmark  flies  down  the  huge  gullet  of  Prussia;  or  when  Saghalin 
falls  into  Russia's  maw.) 


506  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

By  losing,  gain. 

Give  opportunity  to  genius. 

To  give  an  iron  club  to  a  devil  is  to  give  riches  to  a  bad  man. 

While  the  hunter  looks  afar  after  birds,  they  fly  up  and  escape  at 
his  feet. 

The  ignorant  man  is  gentle. 

Don't  give  a  ko-ban  to  a  cat. 

Akin  to  "  The  heart  knoweth  its  own  bitterness "  are  The  sage 
sickens ;  The  beautiful  woman  is  unhappy. 

Every  one  suffers  either  from  his  pride  or  sinfulness. 

Even  a  calamity,  left  alone  for  three  years,  may  turn  into  a  fortune. 

No  danger  of  a  stone  being  burned. 

Even  a  running  horse  needs  the  whip. 

An  old  man's  cold  water — i.  e.,  out  of  place,  unreasonable.  The 
Japanese  nearly  always  wash  their  hands  and  faces  with  hot  water, 
and  old  men  invariably  do  so.  For  an  old  man,  then,  to  wash  with 
cold  water,  or  for  one  to  bring  him  cold  water,  is  decidedly  mal  a 
propos. 

Birds  flock  on  the  thick  branches. 

The  fox  borrowed  the  tiger's  power. 

Giving  wings  to  a  tiger. 

Dark  as  the  lantern's  base,  while  the  light  streams  far  abroad. 
(People  must  go  to  a  distance  to  learn  the  news  about  things  at  home. 
This  is  emphatically  true  about  residents  in  Japan  who  read  home 
newspapers.) 

Heaven  does  not  kill  a  man.     (No  one  is  utterly  crushed  by  calam- 

ity.) 

A  curse  comes  not  from  a  god  with  whom  one  has  no  concern. 
(Men  are  not  to  be  punished  by  a  god  of  whom  they  have  never  heard.) 

Like  jumping  into  the  fire  with  a  bundle  of  wood.  (Especially  used 
of  a  small  nation  going  to  war  against  a  large  one,  only  to  be  "gob- 
bled up.") 

Having  inquired  seven  times,  believe  the  common  report. 

Even  the  worm  that  eats  smart-weed,  to  his  taste.  ("  Every  one  to 
his  liking."  "  No  accounting  for  taste.") 

Was  it  a  wife  comparing  the  attentions  of  her  husband  before  and 
after  marriage  who  coined  this  proverb,  or  heaved  it  as  a  sigh  ?  It 
tells  a  sad  tale  of  a  woman  who  has  borne  mother-pain  and  marriage 
cares  only  to  be  rewarded  by  coldness.  In  Japan,  the  unmarried  girls 
only  wear  the  red  petticoat,  which  peeps  out  so  prettily  at  times,  or 


JAPANESE  PROVERBS.  507 

glistens  through  the  summer  dress  of  silken  crape.  After  marriage, 
they  doff  this  virginal  garment ;  and  as  it  was  with  Whittier's,  so  with 
the  Japanese  Maud  Muller,  "care  and  sorrow  and  childbirth -pain" 
leave  their  trace  on  the  once  blooming  face  and  willowy  form,  in 
which  her  partner  no  longer  delights.  Alas !  what  a  tale  does  this 
proverb  tell :  Love  leaves  with  the  red  petticoat ! 

When  people  say  "  as  ugly  as  sin,"  meaning  thereby  as  ugly  ar 
Milton's  hag,  and  suppose  that  the  blind  bard's  conception  of  ugliness 
eclipses  every  other,  they  have,  most  evidently,  never  looked  upon  the 
face  of  the  Japanese  lord  of  Jigoku,  or  the  hells,  of  which  the  Bud- 
dhists count  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight.  To  say  that  his  face  is 
hideous  or  describe  it  in  adjectives,  is  to  damn  with  faint  praise  the 
native  imagination  that  could  conceive  such  a  terror.  What  I  mean 
by  reference  to  this  demon,  who  is  called  Ema,  is  to  give  point  to  the 
Japanese  version  of  our  homely  reference  to  the  man  who  will  have 
his  fun,  but  "  must  pay  the  fiddler."  The  proverb  by  which  every 
steady-going  Japanese  exults  at  the  end  of  the  fast  and,  perhaps  fine- 
looking  young  man  who  sports  on  credit,  is,  When  the  time  comes 
to  settle  up,  you'll  see  Ema's  face. 

Which  does  the  following  recall  —  the  ostrich,  which,  hiding  its 
head,  thinks  itself  safe,  or  the  youth  who  reads  ghost-stories  till  his 
blood  curdles,  but  who,  by  covering  up  in  the  bedclothes,  feels  safe  ? 
The  proverb,  The  head  is  concealed,  but  the  back  is  exposed,  is  ap- 
plied by  the  Japanese  to  all  who,  to  flee  from  spooks,  and  to  guard 
against  lightning,  hide  in  the  dark  or  under  their  coverlets. 

Here  is  an  exquisite  bit  of  philosophy,  which  shows  that  "  travels 
at  one's  fireside,"  or  what  Emerson  has  taught  of  seeing  at  home  all 
that  travelers  behold  abroad,  are  not  strange  ideas  in  Japan  :  The 
poet,  though  he  does  not  go  abroad,  sees  all  the  renowned  places. 

Some  one  has  said  of  the  sage :  "  He  keeps  his  child's  heart."  All 
know  Wordsworth's  line,  which  is  approximated  in  this :  The  child 
of  three  years  keeps  his  heart  till  he  is  sixty. 

The  idea  contained  in  the  saying,  "  Talk  of  an  angel,  and  you  will 
hear  the  rustling  of  his  wings,"  or  "  Speak  of  the  Devil,"  etc.,  is  con- 
fined only  to  the  genus  Homo  in  the  Japanese  proverb :  Talk  of  a 
person,  and  his  shadow  appears. 

Sydney  Smith  condensed  a  volume  of  dietetic  hygiene  in  his  exact 
statement  that  "  Some  men  dig  their  graves  with  their  teeth."  The 
complement  of  that  is  found  in  this :  Disease  enters  by  the  mouth ; 
or,  The  mouth  is  the  door  of  disease. 


508  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

The  following  arc  all  in  the  form  of  a  simile :  Like  walking  on  thin 
ice  (like  a  politician  before  election -day).  To  give  a  thief  a  key. 
Like  scratching  the  foot  with  the  shoe  on  (can  not  reach  the  seat  of 
trouble).  Like  placing  a  child  near  a  well.  One  hair  of  nine  oxen 
(small  fraction).  Like  the  crow  that  imitated  the  cormorant  (he  tried 
to  dive  in  the  water,  and  was  drowned).  Like  spitting  against  the 
wind  (said  of  a  wicked  slander  against  a  good  man).  The  decree  of 
the  mikado  is  like  perspiration ;  it  can  never  go  back  ("  Firm  as  the 
laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  "). 

Proverbs,  like  certain  kinds  of  money,  vary  in  the  amount  and  ra- 
pidity of  their  circulation.  A  class  of  Japanese  proverbs,  such  as 
"  The  frog  in  the  well  knows  not  the  great  ocean,"  which  lay  almost 
forgotten  in  the  national  memory  for  centuries,  has  come  forth,  and  is 
now  the  circulating  medium  of  those  who  bandy  the  retorts  applica- 
ble to  old  fogies  and  old  fogyism.  The  conservatives  who  impede  or 
oppose  reform  in  Japan,  claiming  that  Japan  is  all-sufficient  in  herself, 
are  usually  styled  "  frogs  "  by  the  young  blades  who  have  been  abroad 
and  seen  the  world  beyond  Japan,  who  also  refer  to  the  past  as  the 
time  when  that  country  was  "  in  a  well." 

There  are  several  other  proverbs  like  that  of  the  "  well-frog ;"  but 
they  depend  for  their  interest  upon  references  to  things  not  easily  ex- 
plained by  mere  translation.  The  "  great  ocean,"  however,  mirrors  it- 
self in  the  Japanese  mind  ever  as  the  symbol  of  immensity.  Thus : 
A  drop  of  the  ocean  is  our  "  drop  in  the  bucket."  To  dam  up  the 
great  ocean  with  the  hand.  The  ocean  does  not  mind  the  dust  (a 
great  man  lives  down  slander).  The  ocean,  being  wide,  can  not  be 
all  seen  at  once  (a  great  subject  can  not  be  treated  fairly  by  a  bigot). 
To  dip  out  the  water  of  the  ocean  with  a  small  shell. 

The  Japanese  have  a  lively  sense  of  the  iniquity  of  ingratitude : 
Better  nourish  a  dog  than  an  unfaithful  servant.  To  have  one's  hand 
bitten  by  the  dog  it  feeds. 

That  paternal  solicitude  is  not  unknown  in  the  land  of  Great  Peace, 
is  evinced  by  these  :  Childbirth  is  less  painful  than  anxiety  about 
children.  It  is  easier  to  beget  children  than  to  care  for  them.  Catch- 
ing a  thief  to  find  him  your  own  son. 

Don't  trust  a  pigeon  to  carry  grain.  (Don't  send  one  man  to  bring 
back  another  from  a  place  of  pleasure,  lest  he  also  be  tempted.) 

If  in  a  hurry,  go  round.  ("  The  longest  way  round  is  the  shortest 
way  home."  "  The  more  hurry,  the  less  speed.") 

The  spawn  of  frogs  will  become  but  frogs. 


JAPANESE  PROVERBS.  509 

By  saving  one  cash  (one  one-hundredth  of  a  cent)  lose  a  hundred 
(one  tempo).  Cash  wise,  tempo  foolish. 

Only  a  tailor's  (dyer's)  promise. 

The  walls  have  ears.     Pitchers  have  spouts. 

Deaf  men  speak  loudly. 

There  is  no  medicine  for  a  fool. 

You  can  not  rivet  a  nail  in  potato  custard. 

He  wishes  to  do  both — to  eat  the  poisoned  delicacy  and  live. 

By  searching  the  old,  learn  the  new. 

Once  I  asked  some  of  our  students  whether  there  was  any  Japanese 
proverb  which  answered  to  the  old  English  one,  "  Happy  is  the  man 
whose  father  has  gone  to  the  devil."  Several  of  them  answered  with 
this  familiar  one:  Jigoku  no  sata  mo,  kane  shidai  —  the  tortures  of 
hell  arc  graded  according  to  the  amount  of  money  one  has ;  or,  briefly 
and  literally,  even  hell's  judgments  are  according  to  money. 

The  Buddhists,  like  the  medieval  priests  in  Europe,  sell  their  masses 
at  a  high  price.  Happy  the  dying  rich  man,  but  woe  betide  the  poor ! 
In  most  Japanese  Buddhist  temples,  as  in  Roman  churches  in  Europe, 
a  box  hangs  up  to  receive  cash  for  the  mutual  benefit  of  the  damned 
and  the  priests — especially  the  latter. 

The  rat-catching  cat  hides  her  claws. 

If  you  keep  a  tiger,  you  will  have  nothing  but  trouble. 

An  ugly  woman  shuns  the  looking-glass. 

Poverty  leads  to  theft. 

To  aim  a  gun  in  the  darkness.     In  vain. 

The  more  words,  the  less  sense. 

Like  the  peeping  of  a  blind  man  through  a  hedge. 

A  charred  stick  is  easily  kindled. 

Who  steals  money,  is  killed ;  who  steals  a  country,  is  a  king. 

If  you  do  not  enter  the  tiger's  den,  you  can  not  get  her  cub. 

In  mending  the  horn,  he  killed  the  ox. 

The  best  thing  in  traveling  is  a  companion  ;  in  the  world,  kindness. 

To  draw  off  water  to  his  own  field.  (Most  of  the  fields  in  Japan  are 
irrigated  rice-fields.  Water  is  always  a  desideratum.  This  proverb  is 
like  our  "  Feather  his  own  nest.") 

Famous  swords  are  made  of  iron  scrapers. 

Like  learning  to  swim  in  a  field. 

Though  the  magnet  attracts  iron,  it  can  not  attract  stone. 

Here  is  something  almost  Shakspearian :  The  gods  have  their  seat 
on  the  brow  of  a  just  man. 


510  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

If  you  say  to  him  "  gently,"  lie  will  say  "  slam." 

A  sixth-day  camellia.  (A  great  flower  festival  comes  on  the  fifth  of 
a  certain  month.  To  bring  your  flower  on  the  sixth  day  is  to  bring  it 
a  day  after  the  fair.) 

Now  sinking,  now  floating.     ("  Such  is  life.") 

Poke  a  canebrake,  and  a  snake  will  crawl  out. 

Like  carrying  a  cup  brimful. 

To  feed  with  honey ;  i.  e.,  to  flatter. 

Proof  is  better  than  discussion. 

Use  the  cane  before  you  fall  down. 

Like  casting  a  stone  at  an  egg. 

A  roving  dog  runs  against  a  stick.  (A  man  willing  to  work  will 
surely  find  employment.) 

To  avoid  the  appearance  of  evil  three  proverbs  are  given :  Don't 
wipe  your  shoes  in  a  melon-patch.  Don't  adjust  your  cap  while  pass- 
ing under  a  pear-tree.  Don't  stay  long  when  the  husband  is  not  at 
home. 

A  bad  report  runs  one  thousand  ri  (two  thousand  three  hundred  and 
thirty-three  miles). 

Lust  has  no  bottom. 

The  world  is  just  as  a  person's  heart  makes  it. 

Send  the  child  you  love  most  on  a  journey.  (To  save  him  from  be- 
ing spoiled  by  indulgence.) 

Cast  the  lion's  cub  into  the  valley.     Let  the  pet  son  travel  abroad. 

Give  sails  to  dexterity. 

He  conceals  a  sword  under  a  laugh. 

To  make  two  enemies  injure  each  other. 

I  have  never  heard  of  any  Japanese  "  Samivel "  receiving  monitory 
advice  concerning  "  vidders ;"  but  Japanese  fathers  often  throw  out 
this  caveat  to  their  sons  when  contemplating  marriage :  Beware  of  a 
beautiful  woman ;  she  is  like  red  pepper. 

The  good  bonzes  sometimes  preach  rather  long  sermons.  Their 
shaven-pated  hearers  do  not  snap  their  hunting-case  watches  under  the 
pulpit.  Nevertheless,  this  is  what  they  say  and  think.  They  often 
test  a  speaker's  merit,  and  measure  the  soul  of  his  wit,  by  his  brevity. 
The  unskillful  speaker  is  long-winded;  or,  It  takes  a  clever  man  to 
preach  a  short  sermon. 

The  following  is  said  by  an  educated  idolater,  who  worships  the 
deity  beyond  the  image,  the  pious  sculptor,  or  the  sneerer  at  all  idola- 
try. Making  an  idol,  does  not  give  it  a  soul. 


JAPANESE  PROVERS.  511 

If  you  hate  any  one,  let  him  live. 

As  there  are  plenty  of  hypocrites  in  Japan,  but  no  crocodiles,  our 
zoological  metaphor  is  altered.  Lachrymal  shams  are  called  "  a 
devil's  tears." 

A  clumsy  fellow  commits  hara-kiri  with  a  pestle. 

Live  under  your  own  hat,  is  the  Japanese  expression  for  "  Be  con- 
tent," or  "  Let  well-enough  alone." 

They  extinguish  meddlesome  busybodies,  or  those  who  talk  too 
much,  by  saying,  "  Make  a  lid  for  that  fool ;  cover  him  up." 

The  women  of  Japan  have  tongues.  I  knew  several  old  shrews  who 
used  their  husbands  as  grindstones  to  sharpen  a  certain  edge-tool 
which  they  kept  in  their  mouth.  Either  a  Japanese  carpenter  or  one 
having  an  eye  for  metronomics  first  noticed  this  brilliant  fact,  that 
The  tongue  three  inches  long  can  kill  a  man  six  feet  high. 

Give  victuals  to  your  enemy.  (The  word  translated  "  victuals " 
means  food  for  animals,  such  as  beasts,  birds,  fishes,  etc.,  or  bait ;  and 
some  Japanese  say  it  should  read,  "  Give  bait  to  your  enemy  " — i.  e., 
revenge  yourself  on  him  skillfully,  by  stratagem.) 

A  cur  that  bravely  barks  before  its  own  gate.  (So  that  it  may  run 
inside,  in  case  it  catches  a  Tartar.) 

Even  a  monkey  sometimes  falls  from  a  tree. 

To  rub  salt  on  a  sore.     ("Adding  insult  to  injury.") 

Excess  of  politeness  becomes  impoliteness. 

A  blind  man  does  not  fear  a  snake.  ("  Fools  rush  in  where  angels 
fear  to  tread.") 

Poverty  can  not  overtake  diligence. 

The  heron  can  rise  from  the  stream  without  stirring  up  the  mud. 
(Delicacy,  tact.) 

Adapt  the  preaching  to  the  hearer. 

If  you  call  down  a  curse  on  any  one,  look  out  for  two  graves. 
("  Curses,  like  young  chickens,  always  come  home  to  roost.") 

As  string  for  our  bouquet,  here  is  something  which,  whether  prov- 
erb or  not,  has  a  meaning :  When  life  is  ruined  for  sake  of  money's 
preciousness,  the  ruined  life  cares  naught  for  the  money. 

There  is  no  teacher  of  Japanese  poetry.  ("  The  poet  is  born,  not 
made.") 

Hearing  is  paradise  ;  seeing  is  hell.     (Description  v.  reality.) 

When  men  become  too  old,  they  must  obey  the  young.  (Said  es' 
pecially  of  the  old  nations,  such  as  Japan  and  China;  they  must,  and 
ought  to,  accept  the  civilization  of  the  younger  Western  nations.) 


512  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


XV. 

THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM. 
(LEAVES  FROM  MY  JOURNAL.) 

March  4th,  1871. — Arrived  in  Fukui. 

March  llth. — Went  by  invitation  to  the  Han  stable,  which  contains 
fifty  horses.  I  selected  a  fine  coal-black  horse,  which  is  to  be  mine 
during  my  stay  in  Fukui.  His  name  is  Green  Willow,  from  his  sup- 
ple and  graceful  form.  He  is  gentle,  and  a  perfect  beauty.  Other 
names  of  horses  were  Black  Dragon,  Willow  Swamp,  Typhoon,  Thun- 
der-cloud, Arrow,  Devil's  Eye,  Ink-stone,  Earthquake,  Ghost,  etc.  I  took 
a  long  ride  through  the  villages  lying  to  the  eastward,  along  the  Ashi- 
wa  (Winged -foot)  River.  Crowds  of  people  were  waiting  in  each 
place  to  see  the  white  foreigner. 

The  dogs  especially  enjoy  the  excitement ;  my  Mercury  in  bronze 
runs  before  my  horse,  clad  in  cuticle,  socks,  and  waist-cloth,  instead  of 
winged  cap  and  anklets.  He  is  tattooed  from  neck  to  heels  with  red 
and  blue  dragons.  Of  his  comrades,  one  has  Yoshitsune's  face  and  bust 
punctured  on  his  skin.  On  the  back  of  another,  evidently  in  love, 
blushes  and  pouts  a  pretty  maiden  with  blossom-garnished  hair.  The 
bettos,  like  other  working -classes,  form  an  hereditary  guild.  They 
are  of  very  low  social  grade.  The  children  speak  of  me  as  "  to-jin  " 
(Chinaman)  ;*  the  grown-up  people,  as  "  i-jin  "  (foreign  man)  ;  the  sa- 
murai, as  "  guai-koku-jin  "  (outside-country  man),  and  a  few  who  know 
exactly,  "  the  America-jin,"  or  "  Be-koku-jin." 


*  For  centuries  Chinamen  were  the  only  foreigners  of  whom  most  Japanese 
children  had  heard  or  seen.  So  in  Hanchow,  China,  the  city  over  which  Marco 
Polo  was  governor,  where  the  Japanese  regularly  traded  and  a  few  resided,  the 
Japanese  were  the  only  strangers  the  people  there  knew.  When  Rev.  J.  Liggins, 
an  American  missionary,  first  visited  this  city,  the  people  called  out  after  him, 
"Japanese!  Japanese!"  varying  the  cry  from  "Foreign  devil,"  "Red-haired," 
etc.,  heard  in  other  places.  The  Japanese  lower  classes  do  not  indulge  in  the 
Tile  habit  of  calling  foreigners  abusive  names,  though  baka  (fool)  is  occasionally 
made  use  of.  The  American  gentleman  here  referred  to  was  the  first  Christian 
missionary  in  Japan  in  this  century,  residing  at  Nagasaki,  where  he,  like  all  other 
foreigners,  was  called  Oranda.jin  (Hollander). 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  513 

March  18th. — Rode  out  to  the  gunpowder  mills.  We  crossed  a 
long  bridge  of  about  forty  boats  (funa-bashi),  over  a  wide,  swift  river. 
The  mills,  in  five  buildings,  with  machinery,  wholly  of  wood,  and  made 
by  natives,  are  run  by  water-power.  The  establishment  blew  up  only 
once,  several  years  ago.  Outside  is  an  image  of  Buddha  and  a  shrine 
in  memory  of  the  five  men  killed  by  the  explosion.  What  a  combina- 
tion— gunpowder  and  Buddhism !  The  magazine  stands  among  the 
hills  near  the  city,  defended  by  a  lightning-rod.  Echizen  powder  won 
a  good  reputation  in  Japan  during  the  late  civil  war,  especially  at  Wa- 
kamatsu  and  Hakodate.  I  also  visited  a  cotton-seed  oil-press  of  sim- 
ple construction,  but  very  effective.  The  riile  factory  is  near  the  city, 
and  has  an  American  rifling  and  other  machines,  including  one  for 
weaving  cloth.  Most  of  them  are  Sasaki's  purchases  in  New  York. 

March  2lst. — A  grand  matsuri  (festival)  is  being  held  at  the  tem- 
ples, and  the  city  is  full  of  farmers  and  country  folk.  They  have 
come  to  pray  for  good  crops.  I  can  usually  distinguish  a  countryman 
from  a  citizen  by  the  superior  diameter  of  his  eyes  and  mouth  on  be- 
holding the  white  foreigner.  Some  of  the  old  ladies  look  at  me  piti- 
fully, so  sorry  that  I  am  so  bleached  and  pale,  instead  of  the  proper 
dark  color  of  skin. 

March  29th.  —  Some  of  the  Buddhist  sects  bury,  others  cremate. 
In  Fukui,  cremation  is  the  usual  rule.  The  cremarium  has  four  fur- 
naces. Saw  a  funeral  procession,  and  witnessed  the  ceremonies  at  the 
mortuary  chapel  by  the  priests  of  the  Shin  sect,  in  their  canonical 
robes  of  gold,  damask,  and  satin,  with  book,  bell,  and  scores  of  candles. 
The  corpse  and  cask,  or  coffin,  were  then  set  on  the  furnace.  The 
flames  under  the  corpse  were  lighted  by  a  relative  of  the  deceased.  A 
sheet  of  flame  instantly  enveloped  the  body,  making  a  shroud  of  fire, 
in  which  nothing  revolting  was  visible.  The  reduction  of  the  body 
of  the  deceased  to  ashes  occupied  nearly  two  hours.  I  witnessed  most 
of  it,  at  intervals.  The  soft  parts  were  consumed  and  volatilized,  and 
the  skeleton  left  a  glowing  white  mass  of  lime,  and  the  skull  a  globe 
of  live  fire.  I  strolled  off,  toward  the  end  of  the  process,  over  the 
mountain  slopes,  through  the  daimio's  cemetery,  where,  in  fine  stone 
tombs,  the  fifteen  princes  of  the  house  of  Echizen  are  buried. 

Returning  on  the  other  side  of  the  cremarium,  I  saw  a  great  heap 
of  skulls,  bones,  clothes,  bowls,  utensils,  and  other  relics  of  the  dead. 
It  was  the  monument  of  a  famine  which  ravaged  Echizen  some  forty 
years  ago,  during  which  time  the  poor  and  the  beggars  died  in  such 
numbers  that  they  could  not  be  consumed  or  inhumed  in  the  usual 


514  THS  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

manner  singly,  but  were  cremated  by  scores  on  heaps  of  brush-wood. 
Railroads  and  improved  means  of  intercommunication  in  the  future 
will  make  great  desolation  by  famine  impossible.  Nearer  the  house 
was  a  mound  containing  many  thousand  cubic  feet  of  ashes  and  cal- 
cined bones,  the  refuse  incineration  of  the  furnaces  during  many  gen- 
erations. It  was  "ashes  to  ashes,"  instead  of  "  dust  to  dust." 

Passing  in  front  of  the  house,  two  relatives  were  engaged  in  picking 
out  with  a  piece  of  bamboo,  and  another  of  wood,  the  clean,  hot  white 
pieces  of  bone.  I  now  understood  the  squeamishncss,  and  even  super- 
stition, of  the  people,  who  will  on  no  account  eat  with  a  pair  of  chop- 
sticks one  of  which  is  of  wood  and  the  other  of  bamboo.  Packed  in 
a  jar,  the  bones  were  then  deposited  in  the  family  vault — the  hollow 
pedestal  of  a  large  tombstone.  The  monuments  are  chiefly  upright 
square  shafts.  Some  are  egg-shaped.  Others,  with  a  top  having  wings 
or  eaves,  are  formed  like  a  castle  tower,  or  pagoda  roof.  Nearly  all 
of  them  are  inscribed  with  Buddhist  texts  and  homid,  or  posthumous 
names.  Among  many  handsome  ones  are  several  made  to  represent  a 
tub  of  sake,  evidently  those  of  tapsters  who  once  dispensed  the  popu- 
lar drink,  and  wished,  even  after  death,  to  advertise  the  business  as 
still  sold  by  the  family  at  the  old  stand.  Fresh  flowers  are  placed  in 
the  sockets  cut  into  the  pedestals  of  many  of  the  tombs.  Women  are 
present  here  and  there,  engaged  in  cleansing  the  monuments  of  moss, 
lichens,  or  dust,  or  inserting  camellias  in  the  bamboo  tubes  which  serve 
as  bouquet-holders.  Some  are  of  the  age  of  Old  Mortality  himself, 
but  some  of  the  young  mortality  were  in  the  shape  of  rather  pretty 
maidens. 

April  1st. — The  prince  gave  a  dinner  at  his  "summer  palace," 
which  stands  on  the  banks  of  the  serpentine  river.  A  glorious  view 
of  snowy  Ilakuzan,  from  breast  to  crown,  is  afforded  on  one  side,  and 
of  the  valley  stretching  to  the  sea  on  the  other.  The  immense,  swell- 
ing white  sails  of  the  junks  appear  as  if  in  the  fields,  the  course  of  the 
river  being  hidden  by  the  vegetation.  Through  my  interpreter,  who 
was  in  his  best  mood,  we  had  a  long  talk  on  politics  native  and  for- 
eign, religion,  and  morals.  The  prince  and  his  minister  asked  a  great 
variety  of  questions  about  the  government,  people,  laws,  and  customs  of 
the  United  States,  and  invited  unlimited  expression  of  opinion.  The 
prince  informed  me  that  the  mikado  had  summoned  a  great  council 
of  the  ex-daimios  in  Tokio  to  discuss  national  affairs,  and  that  he 
would  set  out  for  the  capital  on  the  second  day  hence. 

April  12th. — By  Dr.  ilushhnoto's  invitation  I  attended  the  theatre. 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  515 

The  house  was  crowded.  The  acting  was  fair.  The  play  was  full  of 
love  and  murder,  with  many  amusing  incidents.  A  pretty  woman  of 
gentle  blood  loves  a  poor  itinerant  pipe  mender  and  cleaner.  Her  fa- 
ther wishes  her  to  marry  the  son  of  a  nobleman.  He  succeeds  in  his 
purpose  by  means  of  a  "  go-between,"  who  pretends  to  carry  messages 
from  the  true  lover  to  the  duped  girl.  At  the  marriage  ceremony, 
which  is  represented  in  detail  on  the  stage,  she  lifts  her  silken  hood, 
expecting  to  see  her  true  love,  but  beholds  her  father's  choice,  whom 
she  hates.  She  has  to  submit,  and  goes  to  housekeeping.  Clandes- 
tine meeting  of  wife  and  old  lover.  Jealous  husband  detects  para- 
mours. Murder  of  the  guilty  pair.  The  husband  finds  that  the  pipe- 
mender  is  his  dear  friend  in  humble  disguise.  Remorse.  Commits 
hara-kiri.  Finale. 

As  the  performances  last  all  day,  people  bring  their  tea-pots  and 
lunch-baskets.  The  interest  centres  in  the  bloody  scene,  when  heads, 
trunks,  blood,  and  limbs  lie  around  the  stage  promiscuously.  The  de- 
liberate whetting  of  the  sword  with  hone,  dipper,  bucket,  and  water 
in  sight  of  the  frantic  guilty  pair,  the  prolongation  of  the  sharpening 
and  the  bloody  scene  to  its  possible  limit  of  time — twenty  minutes  by 
the  watch — make  it  seem  very  ludicrous  to  me,  though  the  audience 
look  on  breathless.  During  this  time  all  talking,  eating,  and  attention 
to  infants  cease.  The  repeated  attempts  of  the  husband  to  screw  his 
courage  to  the  sticking-point,  and  thrust  the  dirk  in  his  abdomen,  ex- 
cite the  loud  laughter  of  the  audience.  The  theatre  is  large,  but  of  a 
rather  primitive  order  of  architecture,  yet  probably  as  good  as  some 
that  Shakspeare  played  in.  After  the  play,  I  went  behind  the  scenes, 
and  was  politely  shown  the  actors'  wardrobe  and  dressing-rooms,  and 
the  assortment  of  wigs,  heads,  limbs,  etc.  Rice-chaff  replaces  sawdust 
in  the  shams  used  on  the  stage. 

As  a  rule,  the  better  class  of  Japanese  people  do  not  attend  the  the- 
atres for  moral  reasons,  and  as  examples  to  their  children.  The  influ- 
ences of  the  stage  are  thought  to  be  detrimental  to  virtue.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  the  young  girls  become  too  much  interested  in  the  actors, 
and  hence  fathers  do  not  allow  their  daughters  to  see  the  plays.  The 
actors,  however,  are  the  idols  of  the  lower  classes.  Women  do  not 
play  on  the  stage,  their  parts  being  taken  by  men  or  boys. 

April  1 5th.  —  All  through  the  city,  the  rapid  mountain  streams, 
from  three  to  eight  feet  wide,  are  led  between  stone  banks  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  streets.  At  certain  hours  of  the  day,  the  people  wash  their 
pots,  pans,  and  dishes,  and  at  others  their  clothes.  The  rising  genera- 


516  THE  MIKADO^  EMPIRE. 

tion  enjoy  the  constant  treat  of  wading,  splashing,  sailing  boats,  or 
making  dams,  water-falls,  and  miniature  mills.  The  kennel  also  af- 
fords a  theatre  for  many  a  domestic  drama,  in  which  the  chief  actors 
are  a  soused  baby  and  a  frightened  mother.  While  walking  out  to-day, 
one  of  the  little  girls  who  knew  me,  and  had  long  ceased  to  feel  afraid 
of  me,  came  running  along  the  edge  of  the  water,  crying,  "  Tojin  sanf 
To  jin  san  /"  (Mr.  Foreigner !  Mr.  Foreigner !)  Not  noticing  the  famil- 
viar  cry,  I  suddenly  heard  a  splash  behind  me,  and,  turning  round,  the 
child  had  disappeared.  The  water  was  rather  deep  at  the  point  of 
immersion,  and  I  managed,  after  mtich  difficulty,  to  fish  up  the  strug- 
gling child,  and  hand  the  dripping  darling  to  her  mother,  who  imme- 
diately ejaculated  an  "Aru  beki "  (Served  you  right)  to  her  offspring, 
and,  with  a  profound  bow,  an  Arigato  (Thank  you)  to  the  rescuer. 

May  1st. — During  the  past  month  I  have  made  many  excursions 
on  horseback  through  the  country  'round,  staying  overnight  at  the  vil- 
lage inns.  Sasaki  and  Ivvabuchi  have  been  my  companions.  I  have 
seen  the  paper  manufactories,  oil-presses,  the  sake  breweries,  soy-vats, 
iron  -  foundries,  and  smelting  -  furnaces.  I  have  entered  the  copper 
mines  of  Ono,  and  "  prospected  "  the  coal  region,  from  which  the  coal 
I  burn  in  my  Peekskill  stove  comes. 

While  on  one  trip,  as  I  was  leading  my  horse,  Green  Willow,  down 
a  steep  slope,  being  close  behind  Sasaki's  horse,  well-named  Devil's 
Eye,  the  vicious  brute,  after  squinting  sideways  at  me,  and  seeing  his 
opportunity,  threw  out  his  left  hind  hoof  and  kicked  me.  The  soft 
part  between  the  fetlock  and  hoof  struck  just  above  my  knee,  giving 
me  a  shock,  but  doing  no  serious  injury.  His  hoof  would  have  broken 
my  leg.  The  incident  has  served  to  warp  and  prejudice  my  judgment 
of  Japanese  horses  in  general.  I  can  not  praise  them  highly ;  but 
Green  Willow  is  my  ideal  of  a  noble  animal. 

The  pack-horses,  which  I  see  daily,  amuse  me.  They  are  ungainly, 
unkempt  brutes,  fed  on  the  cheapest  food.  They  carry  about  eight 
hundred  pounds  at  a  load.  Of  their  moral  character  I  can  not  speak 
in  high  terms.  When  led  or  driven  tandem,  or  following  each  other 
in  Indian  file,  these  equine  cannibals  indulge  in  the  vicious  habit  of 
pasturing  on  the  haunches  of  the  animal  in  front  of  them.  This  graz- 
ing process  usually  results  in  lively  kicks,  to  the  detriment  of  the  teeth 
or  chest  of  the  offender,  and  the  demoralization  of  the  whole  line. 

May  2d. — The  farmers  are  busy  making  seed-beds  for  the  rice,  and 
in  hoeing  up  their  fields.  The  valleys  are  full  of  flowers.  The  snow 
has  melted  from  all  the  mountains  except  Hakuzan. 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  517 

May  3d. — The  presents  I  daily  receive  from  my  students  and  the 
officials  are  very  varied.  My  table  is  not  left  unadorned  for  a  single 
day.  A  leg  of  venison  or  wild-boar  meat,  a  duck  netted,  or  a  goose 
shot  in  hunting ;  a  fine  fish,  a  box  of  eggs,  a  hamper  full  of  pears  or 
oranges,  a  bouquet  of  flowers,  a  piece  of  porcelain  or  lacquered  work, 
a  small  carved  ivory  nitsuki  or  bronze  piece,  a  book,  pictures,  speci- 
mens of  paper,  a  box  of  sponge-cake,  sugar-jelly,  or  sweet-potato  cus- 
tard, a  tray  of  persimmons,  candies,  silk  in  napkins,  rolls  of  various 
sizes,  curiosities  of  all  sorts,  come  to  me.  Every  thing  is  daintily 
wrapped  in  red  and  white  cord,  with  the  nosu,  or  ceremonial  folded 
paper,  symbolizing  friendship.  The  exquisite  jointure  and  delicate 
grain  of  the  wood  of  the  boxes  in  which  the  cake,  etc.,  are  cased  cause 
almost  a  pain  when  I  throw  them  away.  "  Chenkey  "  and  Obun  get 
the  candy  and  sweetmeats.  The  gifts  are  not  generally  of  much 
value,  but  they  show  the  sympathy  and  kindly  nature  of  the  people. 


What  follows  a  Meal  on  Horse-flesh. 

Many  of  these  offerings  of  friendship  come  from  strangers.  Many  of 
the  mothers  and  fathers  of  my  students  have  called  in  person  to  thank 
me.  After  profound  bows,  head  and  knee  on  the  floor,  they  offer  the 
present,  usually  carried  by  their  servant,  saying,  "  This  is  a  very  mean 
thing  to  offer  you,  but  I  trust  you  will  accept  it  for  friendship's  sake." 
The  ladies,  especially  the  old  ones,  are  very  talkative  and  friendly.  I 
never  fall  on  all  fours  before  a  man,  but  I  frequently  polish  my  fore- 
head on  the  floor  when  a  lady  does  the  same  for  me.  A  photograph 
alburn  interests  them  exceedingly,  and  gives  occasion  for  many  ques- 
tions. 


518  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

I  find  my  students  surprisingly  eager  and  earnest  in  school.  They 
learn  fast,  and  study  hard.  When  important  or  striking  chemical  ex- 
periments are  made,  the  large  lecture-room  is  crowded  by  officials  as 
well  as  students.  I  spend  six  hours  daily  in  the  school.  In  the  even- 
ing, at  my  house,  I  have  special  classes  of  young  men,  doctors,  teach- 
ers, and  a  circle  of  citizens,  who  listen  to  talks  or  lectures  on  various 
subjects.  My  plan  is  to  take  a  good  text -book  and  explain,  by  talk- 
ing, the  use  of  maps,  charts,  diagrams,  and  the  blackboard,  allowing  the 
auditors  to  ask  questions  freely  at  intervals.  Physical  and  descriptive 
geography,  geology,  chemistry,  physiology,  microscopy,  moral  science, 
the  science  of  government,  the  history  of  European  countries,  the 
various  arts  and  manufactures,  our  social  system,  and,  for  those  who 
wish  it,  a  minority,  the  Bible  and  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  thus 
treated  of — superficially,  indeed,  but,  to  a  sufficiently  encouraging  ex- 
tent, effectively,  as  is  proved  by  the  eager  attention,  note-taking,  and 
intelligent  questionings.  I  find  many  of  them  well  versed  in  those 
questions  for  time  and  eternity  which  have  been  the  conflict  of  ages. 
Many  of  my  nocturnal  auditors  are  middle-aged,  and  a  few  old  men. 
My  interpreter  is  usually  able  to  second  me,  though  I  have  often  to 
prime  him  in  the  afternoon  for  the  discharges  of  the  evening.* 

May  3d. — I  have  been  to  see  the  fan-makers  to-day.  Kioto,  Nagoya, 
and  Tokio  are  the  places  most  noted  for  the  quality  and  quantity 
manufactured,  but  Fukui  has  a  few  shops  where  ogi  (folding  fans)  and 
uchiwa  (flat  fans)  are  made.  Again,  I  find  that  we  foreigners  do 
things  upside  down.  With  us,  the  large  flat  fans  are  for  gentlemen's 
use,  the  folding  fans  for  ladies'.  In  Japan,  the  gentleman  carries  at 
all  times,  except  in  winter,  the  ogi  in  his  girdle,  bosom,  under  his  col- 
lar, or,  in  his  merry  mood,  under  his  cue.  It  is  a  dire  breach  of  eti- 
quette to  appear  in  the  street  with  a  flat  fan,  which  is  almost  exclu- 
sively used  by  the  Japanese  women.  Millions  of  these  fans  are  being 
made  for  the  foreign  market,  and  sold  in  Europe  and  America.  They 
are  cheap  editions  of  art  in  the  land  of  the  gods,  for  all  the  world  to 
look  at.  They  will  probably  do  more  to  advertise  Japan  abroad  than 
any  other  means. 

As  the  principles  of  centralized  capital,  immense  manufactories,  and 
division  of  labor  are  as  yet  scarcely  known  in  Japan,  these  fans,  like 
other  articles  of  art  and  handiwork,  will  be  made  by  tens  of  thou- 


*  These  evening  seances,  though  intermitted  during  the  hot  weather,  were  con- 
tinued until  I  left  Fukui. 


THE  LAST  TEAR  OF  FEUDALISM. 


519 


sands  of  independent  workers  all  over  the  country.  The  Fukuians 
make  fans  of  all  sorts,  and  for  all  purposes :  of  water-proof  paper  for 
dipping  in  water — a  sort  of  vaporizer  for  making  extra  coolness  on 
the  face  by  evaporation ;  of  stout  paper  for  grain-winnows,  charcoal 
fire-blowers,  or  for  dust-pans ;  double-winged  fans,  for  the  judges  at 
wrestling  -  matches ;  gorgeous  colored  and  gilt  fans  for  the  dancing- 
girl,  who  makes  one  a  part  of  herself  in  her  graceful  motion  and 
classic  pose ;  for  the  juggler,  who  will  make  a  butterfly  of  paper  flut- 
ter up  the  edge  of  a  sword.  The  splitting  of  the  bamboo,  the  folding 
or  pasting  of  the  paper  by  the  girls,  the  artist's  work,  the  finishing  and 
packing,  are  all  done  before  my  eyes.  The  manifold  uses  and  etiquette 
of  the  fan  I  am  gradually  learning. 


A 


Kioto  Fan-makers. 

I  find  a  rack  of  silver  hooks  or  a  tubular  fan-holder  in  every  house, 
in  which  arc  several  of  these  implements  of  refreshment,  which  are  at 
once  offered  to  the  visitor  on  his  arrival.  I  have  received  a  stack  of 
fans  inscribed  with  poetry,  congratulations,  or  with  maps,  statistical 
tables,  pictures  of  famous  places,  classic  quotations,  or  ireful  informa- 
tion of  varied  nature.  Many  depict  life,  manners,  architecture,  etc., 
in  Yokohama  and  in  Europe.  They  are  thus  the  educators  of  the 
public.  Many  of  the  Fukui  gentlemen  have  collections  of  fans  with 
famous  inscriptions  or  autographs,  or  pictures  from  noted  artists.  A 
scholar  or  author,  in  giving  a  party  to  his  literary  friends,  has  a  num- 


520  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

ber  of  offi  ready  for  adornment ;  and  people  often  exchange  fans  as 
we  do  photographs.  When  I  go  into  a  strange  house,  especially  in 
my  trips  to  villages  where  the  foreigner  creates  a  sensation,  I  spend 
the  whole  evening  writing  in  English  on  fans  for  my  host,  his  wife, 
daughters,  and  friends.  How  far  the  excerpts  from  Shakspeare,  Mil- 
ton, or  Longfellow  may  be  appreciated  or  understood,  I  can  not  say. 

To  make  the  pictures  for  common  flat  fans,  the  design  is  drawn  by 
the  artist  on  thin  paper.  This  is  pasted  on  a  slab  of  cherry-wood  and 
engraved.  The  pictures  are  printed  by  laying  the  fan -paper  flat  on 
the  block  and  pressing  it  smooth.  In  the  same  manner,  the  Japanese 
have  printed  books  for  centuries.  The  various  colors  are  put  on, 
with  sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  blocks.  This  art  is  chromo-xy- 
lography,  instead  of  chromo- lithography.  The  picture  papers,  some- 
times with  musk  or  other  perfumes  laid  between  them,  are  then  pasted 
on  the  frame.  The  costly  gold -lacquered,  ivory -handled,  and  inlaid 
fans  arc  made  in  Tokio  and  Kioto. 

Mat/  4th. — The  national  festival  in  honor  of  the  soldiers  slain  during 
the  civil  war  of  1868-'VO  was  celebrated.  This  is  "Decoration  Day." 
The  whole  city  kept  holiday.  In  the  morning  a  regiment  of  soldiers 
paraded  in  nondescript  dress,  a  hybrid  of  native  costume  and  foreign 
clothes,  civil,  military,  and  neither.  Straw  sandals  and  high  boots,  tight 
trowsers  and  the  hakama  petticoats,  caps,  wide -brimmed  hats,  cha- 
peaux,  and  bare  heads,  top -knots  with  shaven  scalps,  and  hair  cut  in 
foreign  fashion,  alternated  confusedly.  The  variety  made  a  burlesque 
that  caused  the  only  American  spectator  to  almost  crush  his  teeth  in 
trying  to  choke  down  a  laugh.  Falstaff's  regiment  and  the  "  Mulligan 
Guards  "  of  popular  song  were  utterly  eclipsed. 

Tens  of  thousands  of  people  visited  the  cemetery  called  Sho  Kon 
Sha  (Soul-beckoning  Rest),  on  the  top  of  Atago  yama.  Many  brought 
flowers  to  deck  the  tombs.  In  the  afternoon,  while  I  was  there,  the 
ladies  of  the  prince's  household  were  present,  in  their  gorgeously  em- 
broidered silk  gowns  and  girdles.  Their  hair  was  dressed  in  the  fan- 
like  coiffure  characteristic  of  the  maids  of  honor  in  the  households  of 
the  Kioto  court  nobles.  One  of  them  afterward  sent  me  as  presents, 
through  the  prince's  physician,  some  very  pretty  specimens  of  needle- 
work from  her  own  tapering  fingers.  They  consisted  of  a  lady's  white 
satin  letter-case,  with  a  billet-doux  folded  up  in  it — only  it  was  blank, 
though  the  day  was  not  the  1st  of  April.  The  other  gifts  were  a 
"  currency -holder,"  or  small  paper-money  wallet,  in  orange-yellow 
satin,  bound  in  green  and  gold  thread  damask ;  a  green  silk  book- 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  521 

mark,  with  autumn  leaves  painted  on  it ;  a  case  for  holding  chopsticks 
of  many-shaded  purple  silk  crape,  and  one  or  two  other  pretty  conceits 
in  silk,  each  a  poem  to  the  eye.  These  I  put  with  the  other  memen- 
toes of  the  handiwork  of  the  sisters  of  students,  or  the  daughters  of 
the  officials,  which  I  have  received. 

In  the  afternoon,  thousands  of  people  in  their  gala  dress,  and  with 
substantial  refreshments  and  drinkables,  gathered  to  witness  the  dis- 
play of  fire-works  sent  up  from  the  parade-ground.  The  pyrotechnic 
pieces,  in  shape  like  a  small  paint-keg,  were  put  in  an  immense  upright 
cannon  or  mortar  made  of  a  stout  wooden  tube  like  a  tree-trunk,  bound 
with  strong  bamboo  hoops.  Exploding  far  up  in  air,  the  colors  being 
white,  black,  red,  and  yellow,  the  resulting  "fire -flowers"  were  inter- 
esting or  comical.  An  old  woman  hobbled  on  a  cane ;  an  old  man 
smoked  a  pipe  whence  issued  a  fox ;  a  tea-kettle  evolved  a  badger ;  a 
cuttle-fish  sailed,  with  outspread  suckers,  in  mid -air;  a  cat  ran  after 
mice ;  a  peach  blossomed  into  a  baby ;  Pussy,  with  a  mouse  ("  rat's 
baby ")  in  her  mouth,  seemed  to  tread  the  air ;  a  hideous  dragon 
spouted  fire ;  serpents  ran  after  each  other ;  a  monkey  blew  soap-bub- 
bles. These  and  other  mid-air  conceits  amused  both  the  little  children 
and  those  of  larger  growth.  The  exhibition  closed  at  dark.  Every  one 
was  happy.  A  few  were  tipsy  ;  but  I  saw  no  disorder.  I  had  a  seat  in 
the  family  party  of  Mr.  Nagasaki,  whose  chubby  children  and  wife  were 
present,  making  a  lively  circle  around  the  picnic-box  and  tiny  dishes. 

May  13th. — Engaged  a  river-boat,  with  four  stout  rowers  and  pole- 
men,  and  made  a  trip  down  the  river  to  the  sea.  Spent  from  Satur- 
day till  Monday  at  Mikuni,  the  sea-port  of  Fukui,  as  the  guest  of  the 
chief  tea -merchant  of  the  place,  whose  plantations  extend  over  the 
hills  for  many  acres.  He  sends  seventy -five  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  tea  to  Yokohama  annually.  The  ocean  scenery  here  is  magnificent 
beyond  description.  A  splendid  natural  sea-wall  of  columnar  trap  re- 
minded me  of  the  "  Giant's  Causeway."  A  lacquer-artist  in  Fukui  has 
made  sketches  of  the  rock  and  shore  scenery  here,  and  is  now  making 
me  a  handsome  stand  for  my  glass-sponges  (Hyalonema  mirabilis).  It 
will  have  a  scene  from  Mikuni  on  it.  Fleets  of  fishing-boats  were  out 
on  the  blue  waters.  The  diving-girls,  like  mermaids,  exhibited  their 
pluck  and  skill  by  diving  many  fathoms  down  in  the  deep  water  of 
the  rocky  recesses ;  or,  strapping  a  basket  on  their  backs,  they  swam 
far  out,  knife  in  hand,  to  reap  a  submarine  harvest  from  the  rocks. 
They  returned  in  a  half-hour,  heavily  laden  with  awabi  (sea-ears)  and 
spiral  univalves.  These  they  afterward  roasted  in  their  own  shells, 


522 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


and  offered  us.  At  the  merchant's  home,  decked  in  their  best  robes 
and  coifs,  they  danced  and  sung  their  wild  fisher's  songs  for  us.  In 
the  village  I  saw  a  famous  sculptor  in  wood,  who  was  carving  a  horse 
in  life  size  for  a  Shinto  shrine.  Though  faulty  in  some  details  of 
anatomy,  the  fire  and  grace  of  motion  were  wonderfully  life-like.  In 
Fukni,  the  week  before,  I  had  seen  an  artist  dip  his  long,  little  finger- 
nail in  ink  and  draw  figures  on  a  fan,  and  with  astonishing  rapidity 
furnished  a  very  spirited  design  of  a  horse  in  motion,  after  Hokusai's 
style,  with  but  seven  strokes,  and  a  few  sweeps  of  a  wide  brush  for 
the  mane  and  tail. 


Seven-stroke  Sketch.    "Wild  Horse  of  Nambu. 

May  16th. — By  orders  received  to-day  from  the  Central  Govern- 
ment of  Tokio,  two  students  arc  to  be  chosen  from  each  han,  and  sent 
abroad  to  study.  This  will  enable  several  hundred  young  men  to  see 
and  live  in  Europe  and  America.  It  is  also  a  political  move  to  unite 
all  parts  of  the  empire  together,  and  show  even  the  people  of  the  late- 
ly rebellious  portions  that  they  are  to  partake  of  the  national  benefits. 
In  our  han,  one  is  to  be  elected  by  the  officers  and  one  by  myself. 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  523 

The  choice  of  the  former  is  Yamaoka  Jiro.*  I  chose  from  a  dozen 
or  more,  equally  worthy,  Kinamera  Shirato.f  Over  four  hundred  stu- 
dents will  embark  for  America  during  this  and  the  following  month. 

The  rice -fields  of  the  whole  country  are  now  lakes  of  rich  mud- 
pulp,  the  paradise  of  polliwigs.  An  expanse  of  an  exquisite  light 
green  covers  many  parts  of  the  valley.  All  the  rice  is  transplanted, 
having  been  first  sown  broadcast  in  seed-beds,  which  are  under  water. 
The  husbandman  casts  his  bread  upon  the  waters.  He  will  find  it, 
after  many  summer  days,  in  November.  Picnic  parties  make  the 
woods  on  Atago  yama  lively  with  music,  fun,  feasting,  and  merry  laugh- 
ter. The  powdered  girls  in  the  archery  galleries  and  tea-houses  are 
reaping  a  harvest  of  small  change.  Every  one  enjoys  the  fine  weather. 

May  20th. — Four  students  arrived  from  Higo  to-day,  having  come 
here  to  study,  on  the  recommendation  of  my  former  pupil  in  America, 
Numagawa,  a  young  samurai  of  Kumamoto.  One  I  call  "  Bearded 
Higo,"  for  he  wears  what  is  rare  in  Japan,  a  full  beard.  The  Higo 
family  is  connected  by  marriage  with  the  house  of  Echizen.  My 
prince's  beautiful  wife  is  a  Higo  princess.  Her  face  is  of  a  perfect 
Yamato  type. 

July  4:th. — Celebrated  the  "  glorious  Fourth  "  to-day  by  raising  the 
American  flag,  and  starting  a  new  class  in  the  school,  composed  of  the 
brightest  boys  of  the  Sho  Gakko,  or  secondary  school.  Mail  arrived 
from  home,  eight  weeks  from  Philadelphia. 

During  the  past  month,  a  great  many  religious  festivals  and  proces- 
sions have  been  held.  I  attended  a  Buddhist  sermon  in  the  teinple  ;  a 
prayer-service  in  a  private  house  ;  a  grand  concert  of  music  by  twenty- 
four  bonzes  in  full  sacerdotal  costume,  with  wind  and  string  instru- 
ments, in  the  monastery ;  and  several  private  entertainments. 

I  find  that  both  in  houses  and  at  picnics  screens  are  an  important 
article  of  furniture,  and  behind  these  couples  who  have  whispering  to 
do  may  enjoy  a  tete-a-tete  undisturbed.  Besides  ornament,  they  serve 
the  purpose  of  alcoves  or  bay-windows  for  temporary  privacy.  In  the 
cut,  the  words  "  sasame  goto  "  (whispering)  signify  that  something  confi- 
dential is  being  told.  Whether  the  pair  are  lovers  is  not  certain,  though 
the  expression  on  the  face  of  the  man  is  that  of  a  love-lorn  swain  ;  and 
the  young  lady,  whose  coiffure  betokens  that  she  is  in  the  matrimo- 

*  He  studied  at  Princeton,  Troy,  and  Columbia  School  of  Mines,  in  New  York, 
and  is  now  an  officer  in  the  Department  of  Education. 

t  He  studied  at  Albany  and  Hoboken,  and  is  now  in  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment's service. 


524 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


nial  market,  seems  to  be  paying  very  close  attention,  as  her  face,  and 
hands  drawn  within  her  sleeve  and  to  her  neck,  indicate. 

July  5th. — At  a  religious  service  in  the  hall  of  the  castle,  a  band 
of  sacred  Shinto  musicians  played  the  national  hymn,  many  centuries 
old,  the  strangest  and  most  weird  system  of  sounds  I  ever  heard. 
Twelve  Shinto  priests,  in  white  robes,  offered  up  the  fruits  of  the  sea- 
son, and  solemnly  read  prayers  written  for  the  occasion.  Over  one 


Whispering  behind  the  Screen. 

thousand  officials,  in  swords  and  ceremonial  robes  of  hempen  and  silk 
cloth  (kami-shimo),  were  present.  Their  salutations  to  each  other, 
after  the  exercises,  were  fearful  to  behold.  Much  breath  was  sucked, 
exalted  honorifics  indulged  in,  congratulations  spoken,  and  excrucia- 
ting politeness  manifested. 

To  all  these  private  or  official  entertainments  I  receive  very  polite- 
ly worded  written  invitations.  On  the  day  set  apart  in  honor  of  Jim- 
mu  Tenno,  all  the  officials,  according  to  rank,  assembled,  in  robes  of 
ceremony,  in  the  han-cho,  and  each,  as  his  name  was  called,  advanced 
to  a  stone  lavatory,  washed  his  hands,  and  offered  a  prayer  to  the  gods 
for  the  prosperity  of  the  empire.  I  was  especially  invited  to  attend, 
and  given  a  seat  of  honor.  Later,  in  answer  to  questions  about  great 
men,  I  took  occasion  to  explain  that  the  reverence  of  the  American 
people  for  Washington  -,vas  for  his  pure  and  high  moral  character  as 
a  man,  and  not  as  a  military  hero.  lie  was  not  as  Jimmu  (Spirit  of 
War).  Some  Japanese  imagine  that  the  Americans  worship  Wash- 
ington as  a  god.  This,  I  showed,  was  a  mistake.  Several  of  the  peo- 
ple here  have  his  picture  in  their  houses.* 

*  Three  separate  translations  of  Irving's"Life  of  Washington,"  one  a  scholar- 
ly production,  have  been  made  into  Japanese,  and  several  sketches  of  his  life. 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  525 

July  6th. — A  typhoon  (tai-fu)  of  frightful  violence  passed  over  the 
city  last  night.  In  the  morning,  the  destruction  of  fences,  roofs,  and 
houses  was  awful  to  behold.  My  gardens  of  American  flowers  and 
vegetables  are  ruined  by  the  sharp  shingles,  torn  and  hurled  from  the 
great  roof  by  hundreds,  as  though  by  a  tormentum  or  catapult.  I 
learn  that  hundreds  of  junks  have  been  wrecked,  and  lives  lost  along 
the  coast. 


Samurai,  in  Kami-shimo  Dress,  saluting. 

July  \\th. — The  prince  returned  from  Tokio  to-day.  Evidently, 
something  more  is  in  the  political  wind.  The  faces  of  the  samurai 
and  officials  wear  a  solemn  expression — "sicklied  o'er  with  the  pale 
cast  of  thought."  What  can  it  be  ?  Some  coming  event  is  casting 
its  shadow  before. 

July  16th. — This  morning  I  met  a  Buddhist  priest  carrying  a  Yan- 
kee lamp  and  a  can  of  Pennsylvania  petroleum  to  the  monastery.  It 
seemed  a  symbol  of  more  light.  A  man  was  drowned  in  the  river 
to-day.  The  people  say  a  kappa  dragged  him  down. 

To-day  I  saw  a  snake-charmer  exhibit.  A  tortoise-tamer  made  his 
brood  perform  tricks :  stand  up  on  hind  legs,  march  in  various  direc- 
tions, advance,  retreat,  stop,  and  climb  over  each  other,  at  the  tap  of  a 
drum.  A  great  many  other  tricks,  such  as  breaking  a  cobble-stone 
with  the  fist,  walking  on  the  edge  of  a  sword  and  then  swallowing  it, 
feats  of  strength,  astonishing  poises,  jugglery,  etc.,  were  performed  at 
the  grand  fair  and  show  on  the  river  flats.  At  night,  the  gayly  illu- 
minated refreshment  booths  and  boats  made  the  strand  and  river  as 
lively  as  the  imagination  could  well  conceive.  At  the  matsuri  in  hon- 
or of  the  patron  deity  of  the  city,  the  procession  of  people  was  proba- 


526  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

bly  four  or  five  miles  long.  All  the  singing-girls,  actors,  guilds,  trades, 
monasteries,  and  many  temples  were  represented.  Few  or  no  samurai 
were  in  tbe  procession.  Immense  images  of  idols  were  dragged  by 
the  crowds ;  and  the  historic  and  legendary  personages  and  tableaux 
were  largely  represented.  It  was  a  scene  of  wild  mirth,  drunkenness, 
and  paganism. 

July  I8tk. — The  thunder-bolt  has  fallen  !  The  political  earthquake 
has  shaken  Japan  to  its  centre.  Its  effects  are  very  visible  here  in 
Fukui.  Intense  excitement  reigns  in  the  homes  of  the  samurai  of  the 
city  to-day.  I  hear  that  some  of  them  are  threatening  to  kill  Mitsuo- 
ka,  who  receives  income  for  meritorious  services  in  1868,  and  who  has 
long  been  the  exponent  of  reform  and  of  national  progress  in  Fukui. 

At  ten  o'clock  this  morning,  a  messenger  from  Tokio  arrived  at  the 
han-cho.  Suddenly  there  was  a  commotion  in  the  school.  All  the 
native  teachers  and  officials  were  summoned  to  the  directors'  room. 
I  saw  them  a  few  minutes  afterward.  Pale  faces  and  excited  nerves 
were  in  the  majority.  The  manner  in  which  some  of  them  strode  to 
the  door,  thrust  their  swords  into  their  belts,  stepped  into  their  clogs, 
and  set  off  with  flowing  garments  and  silk  coat-tails  flapping  to  the 
leeward,  was  quite  theatrical,  and  just  like  the  pictures  in  Japanese 
books. 

An  imperial  proclamation  just  received  orders  that  the  hereditary 
incomes  of  the  samurai  be  reduced,  all  sinecure  offices  abolished,  and 
the  salaries  thereto  attached  turned  over  to  the  imperial  treasury. 
The  number  of  officials  is  to  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  minimum. 
The  property  of  the  han  is  to  become  that  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment. The  Fukui  han  is  to  be  converted  into  a  ken,  or  prefecture,  of 
the  Central  Government.  All  officials  are  to  be  appointed  direct  from 
Tokio. 

The  change  affects  me  for  the  better.  Hitherto  the  school  direct- 
orate consisted  of  fourteen  officers.  "With  too  many  sailors,  the 
boat  runs  up  a  hill."  There  are  now  only/crar.  An  official  from  the 
han-cho  waited  upon  me  to  announce  that  my  four  guards  and  eight 
gate-keepers  are  dismissed  from  office.  I  shall  henceforth  have  but 
two  gate-keepers.  The  local  officials  of  Fukui  are  to  be  reduced  from 
jive  hundred  to  seventy.  The  incubus  of  yakuninerie  is  being  thrown 
off.  Japan's  greatest  curse  for  ages  has  been  an  excess  of  officials  and 
lazy  rice-eaters  who  do  not  work.  Sindbad  has  shaken  off  the  Old 
Man  of  the  Sea.  Hurra  for  the  New  Japan ! 

July  19th. — In  the  school  to-day,  the  absence  of  officials,  and  con- 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  527 

sequently  of  fuss  and  interruption,  in  my  department  is  remarkable. 
The  directors'  room  is  vacant.  It  is  like  the  "  banquet-hall  deserted." 
In  the  ken-cho,  the  quorum  is  but  a  skeleton,  compared  with  the  fat 
body  of  the  day  before.  The  students  tell  me  that  some  of  the  old 
men  in  the  city  are  nearly  crazy  with  anxiety :  a  few  violent  fellows 
still  wish  to  assassinate  Mitsuoka  and  the  other  imperialists,  who  have 
been  working  to  bring  this  state  of  things  about.  The  respectable 
samurai,  however,  and  the  men  of  weight  and  influence,  almost  unani- 
mously approve  of  the  mikado's  order.  They  say  it  is  a  necessity, 
not  for  Fukui,  but  for  the  nation,  and  that  the  altered  national  condi- 
tion and  the  times  require  it.  Some  of  them  talk  exultingly  about  the 
future  of  Japan.  They  say,  "  Now  Japan  will  take  a  position  among 
the  nations  like  your  country  and  England." 

July  25th. — This  afternoon,  one  of  the  ken  officials,  Mr.  Tsutsumi, 
who  had  just  come  from  Tokio,  called  to  see  me.  He  spoke  so  clear- 
ly and  distinctly  that  I  understood  his  Japanese  without  calling  in  my 
interpreter.  He  bore  a  message  from  Mr.  Katsu  Awa.  An  American 
teacher  is  desired  for  the  school  at  Shidzuoka,  in  Suruga.  In  his  let- 
ter, Mr.  Katsu  said,  "  I  desire  a  professional  gentleman,  regularly  edu- 
cated, not  a  mechanic  or  clerk  who  has  taken  to  teaching  to  pick  up 
a  living ;  and,  if  possible,  a  graduate  of  the  same  school  as  yourself." 
Evidently,  Mr.  Katsu  understands  the  difference  between  a  teacher  and 
a  "  teacher." 

I  immediately  wrote  to  my  former  classmate  and  fellow-traveler  in 
Europe,  Edward  Warren  Clark,  A.M.,  offering  him  the  position.* 

August  10th. — The  prince  (having  returned  from  Tokio),  his  cham- 
berlain, and  one  karo  dined  with  me  to-day.  In  the  morning,  two  of 
his  pages,  accompanied  by  servants,  came  to  my  house,  bringing  pres- 
ents. They  consisted  of  the  products  of  Echizen,  rolls  of  fine  paper, 
muslin,  and  silk,  a  box  of  eggs  and  one  of  sponge-cake,  an  inlaid 
cake-box  lacquered  in  several  colors,  a  case  of  three  rare  painted  fans, 
all  tied  in  silk  napkins  with  red-and-white  cord.  The  prince  had  also 
brought  for  me  from  Iwakura  Tomomi,  now  U  Dai  Jin  (junior  prime 
minister),  an  exquisitely  beautiful  gold-lacquered  cabinet,  adorned  with 
sparrows  and  bamboo,  cherry-blossoms,  and  variegated  feathers.  In 
one  of  the  drawers  were  a  number  of  perfumed  fans  of  elegant  man- 
ufacture. A  letter  from  Mr.  Iwakura  accompanied  the  gift,  begging 

*  Mr.  Clark  accepted,  arriving  in  Shidzuoka  in  November,  and  for  over  three 
years  was  an  earnest  and  faithful  teacher.  He  was  in  Shidzuoka  two  years,  and 
iu  Tokio,  in  the  Imperial  College,  one  year. 


528  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

my  acceptance  as  a  token  of  his  regard  for  my  care  and  instruction  of 
his  sons  while  in  the  United  States. 

The  prince  laid  aside  his  icy  dignity  as  the  dinner  proceeded,  after 
which  conversation  was  prolonged  for  an  hour  or  two,  the  guests  pro- 
ducing their  pipes,  filling  and  emptying  a  great  many  of  the  tiny  sil- 
ver bowls.  On  the  prince  rising  to  depart,  his  ministers  fell  down  on 
hands  and  knees  until  Matsudaira  had  reached  the  door,  where  his 
sandal  and  lantern  bearers  were  awaiting  his  appearance.  Then  the 
officers  rose  and  accompanied  him  to  his  norimono.  One  of  the  forty- 
five  million  princes  of  the  United  States,  standing  erect,  shook  hands 
with  the  nobleman,  bid  him  good-bye,  and  invited  him  to  come  again. 
In  accordance  with  native  etiquette,  the  guests  send  some  trifling 
token  of  acknowledgment  the  day  after  an  entertainment  —  eggs, 
sponge-cake,  a  fish,  or  other  gift — as  a  sort  of  "  return  call."  On 
meeting,  the  favored  one  salutes  his  late  host,  saying,  "Sendatte  ariga- 
to  "  ("  Thank  you  for  your  kindness  received  a  few  days  ago  "). 

August  \5th. — The  thermometer  has  ranged  from  95°  to  99°  at 
3  P.M.  during  several  days  of  last  week.  All  Fukui  goes  to  sleep  in 
the  middle  of  the  day.  I  occasionally  walk  out  in  the  early  after- 
noon, seeing  scores  of  houses  and  shops  open,  but  perfectly  quiet, 
their  inmates,  often  rotund  sylphs,  as  in  Hokusai's  sketch,  being  stretch- 


The  Siesta. 

ed  on  the  floor  asleep,  not  always  in  the  most  graceful  position. 
There  are  very  few  flies  to  trouble  them.  Japan  seems  to  be  singu 
larly  free  from  these  pests.  At  night,  mosquitoes  are  numerous,  hun- 
gry, and  of  good  size.  The  people  are  well  provided  with  mosquito- 
nets,  which  are  large,  like  the  room  itself,  and  made  to  fit  it.  I  find 
that  the  leap-year  hint  of  a  Japanese  widow  to  a  favored  suitor  which 
makes  him  happy  is,  that  "  her  mosquito-net  is  too  large."  The  poor 
folks  smoke  the  pests  out.  It  is  curious  that  the  Japanese  word  for 
mosquito  (ka)  and  an  interrogation-point  (ka)  is  the  same. 

At  night  the  common  people  assemble  in  rings  of  from  a  score  to 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  529 

a  hundred,  and  dance  in  slow  measure,  clapping  hands  and  singing. 
The  young  folks  especially,  of  both  sexes,  like  this  fun. 

A  Japanese  city  during  hot  weather  affords  excellent  opportunities 
for  the  study  of  breathing  statuary.  The  laborers  often  strip  to  the 
loin-cloth,  the  women  to  the  waist.  Even  the  young  girls  and  maid- 
ens just  rounding  into  perfection  of  form  often  sit  half  nude ;  think- 
ing it  no  desecration  to  expose  the  body  from  the  waist  up.  They 
seem  to  be  utterly  unaware  of  any  impropriety.  Certainly  they  are 
innocent  in  their  own  eyes.  Is  the  Japanese  virgin  "  an  Eve  before 
the  fall  ?" 

Among  the  games  played  in  public  is  dakiu  (polo),  which  is  very 
ancient  in  Japan.  An  immense  crowd  of  spectators,  prince,  princess, 
lords  and  ladies,  gentlemen,  people,  priests  and  students,  gathered  in- 
side the  riding  course  to  see  the  game  of  "  dakiu  "  played.  I  had  one 
of  the  best  seats  given  me  in  the  pavilion  occupied  by  the  daimio 
and  his  gentlemen  in  waiting.  Every  body  was  dressed  handsomely, 
the  weather  perfect,  the  scene  animating.  Judges  and  scorers  were  in 
ceremonial  dress. 

At  the  signal,  given  by  a  tap  of  a  bell,  twelve  players  mounted. 
At  the  next,  they  rode  into  the  lists,  saluted  the  prince  and  judges, 
and  proceeded  to  the  end  of  the  course,  ranging  themselves  in  Indian 
file,  with  their  horses'  heads  to  the  wickets,  which  were  two  bamboo 
holes  with  a  cord  across  them,  about  ten  feet  from  the  ground. 

The  rival  parties,  six  players  in  each,  called  themselves  the  Genji 
and  the  Heike.  The  Genji  wore  white,  the  Heike  red  hats,  accord- 
ing to  the  colors  of  the  ancient  flags.  Each  player  had  a  long  bam- 
boo stick  ("  spoon  ")  like  a  shepherd's,  crook,  with  net-work  of  cord. 
On  the  ground,  in  two  rows  at  the  side,  and  extending  in  front  of  the 
riders,  were  seventy -two  red  and  white  balls.  The  whites  were  to 
throw  the  red  balls  over  and  through  the  wicket,  the  reds  to  throw  the 
whites.  Balls  going  over  the  lists  outside  the  wickets  were  tossed 
back  again.  Each  party  was  to  oppose  the  other.  The  red  flag 
waved  on  the  right  wicket-pole,  the  white  on  the  left. 

At  the  signal,  given  by  a  wave  of  the  judge's  fan,  both  parties  rode 
nimbly  up  the  lists,  picking  up  the  balls,  and  flinging  them  over  the 
wickets,  if  they  could.  The  leaders  having  reached  the  wickets,  and 
a  number  of  balls  having  been  thrown  over,  and  others  scattered  over 
the  field,  turned  back  to  oppose  each  other,  and  then  the  game  grew 
intensely  exciting.  It  was  shinny  on  horseback.  Skillful  handling  of 
the  horse,  as  well  as  of  the  crook,  was  necessary.  Three  riders  were 


530 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


dismounted.     Occasionally 

»J/  ^f~~  a  man  was  hurt.     The  col- 

lision  of   excited    animals 

|P^  /        ®~\i---  against  each  other  was  fre- 

JM  quent.   The  balls  flew  back- 

ward and  forward,  up  and 
down.  Finally,  there  was 
but  one  ball  left.  Twelve 
men  and  horses  contested 
for  it.  The  Heike  won  the 
first  game,  having  thrown 
all  the  thirty-six  white  balls 
over  their  wicket,  while 
the  Genji  had  three  red 
balls  left  on  the  ground. 
Three  games  were  played, 
the  Genji  winning  two. 
The  prizes,  awarded  by  the 
prince,  were  a  roll  of  silk, 
a  helmet,  a  porcelain  vase, 
and  autograph  scrolls. 

August  28^. — I  have 
returned  from  a  trip  to 
Hakuzan  (Shiro  yama, 
White  Mountain)  and 
Kaga.  Emori  and  Iwa- 
buchi  accompanied  me.  1 
spent  eight  days  among 
the  mountains,  being  the 
first  foreigner  who  lias  ever 
ascended  Hakuzan.  It  is 
nine  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  high 
by  imperfect  method  of 
measurement,  with  only  a 
thermometer.  At  any  rate, 
the  surmise  of  Ilumboldt, 
and  even  the  Japanese  of 
this  coast,  that  Hakuzan  is  higher  than  Fuji,  is  disposed  of.  At  the 
top  was  a  Buddhist  shrine,  strongly  built  and  handsomely  furnished. 


THE  LAST  YEAR   OF  FEUDALISM. 


531 


I  spent  the  night  in  a  hut  near  the  summit,  in  which  some  forty 
pilgrims  slept  besides  my  two  servants.  The  scenery  from  the  edge 
of  the  extinct  crater,  which  was  full  of  snow  and  water,  was  grand ,' 
but  the  mountain  torrents,  water -falls,  and  vistas  lower  down  afford- 
ed the  greatest  pleasure.  I  passed  villages  full  of  girls  reeling  silk. 
The  crops  of  tobacco,  indigo,  hemp,  rice,  etc.,  promise  to  be  lux- 
uriant. In  the  towns  dense  crowds  lined  the  streets  to  see  the 
foreigner.  At  the  hotels  the  dainty  Emori,  in  settling  bills,  never 
handles  money,  but  folds  the  sum  neatly  in  white  paper,  and  ties 
it  with  the  ceremonial  red-and-whitc  cord,  and  lays  it  on  a  tray,  de- 
parting with  many  bows.  I  noticed  many  ja-kago  ("  snake-baskets  "), 


or  ropes  of  stones,  used  as  piers  and  jetties  to  preserve  river -banks 
from  being  washed  away  by  flood  or  current.  They  are  of  split  bam- 
boo, plaited  in  cylindrical  nets,  from  ten  to  one  hundred  feet  long,  the 
meshes  being  just  the  size  to  retain  large  pebbles.  They  are  cheap, 
durable,  and  efficient.  In  some  parts  of  Japan,  notably  along  the  To- 
kaido,  there  are  miles  of  embankments  formed  by  them. 

At  Daishoji  a  number  of  exiled  "  Christians  "  from  Urakami,  near 
Nagasaki,  are  confined.  I  was  not  allowed  to  see  them.  At  the  sul- 
phur baths  of  Yamanaka,  a  noted  watering-place,  were  a  number  of  no- 
blemen with  their  families.  I  also  visited  Sabae,  Katsuyama,  Ono,  Ma- 
ruoka,  all  large  towns,  in  Echizen.  At  Sabae  we  were  entertained  in 
splendid  style  at  the  temple  hostelry.  The  entire  country  is  very  rich 
in  historical,  legendary,  mythic,  and  holy  associations,  and  my  enjoy- 


532 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


ment  was  intense  throughout.  The  Daimio  of  Maruoka  is  a  descend 
ant  of  the  Daimio  of  Hizen,  friend  of  the  Jesuits  in  the  sixteenth  cent- 
ury. 

September  30th. — My  new  "foreign"  house  was  finished  some  days 
ago.  It  was  first  visited  by  the  prince  and  his  officers,  who  enjoyed  a 
luncheon,  a  social  smoke,  and  a  view  of  the  mountains  from  the  veran- 
da. They  wished  to  study  a  foreign  house  at  leisure.  The  scenery 


My  House  iu  Fiikui. 


of  the  river,  up  the  valley — the  mountains  to  the  west  and  south,  snow- 
clad  Hakuzan  to  the  north,  the  city  and  castle,  towers,  moats,  and  walls 
— is  very  fine.  Then,  for  three  days,  by  official  permission,  the  house 
was  thrown  open  to  public  inspection.  People  from  the  city  and 
country  folks  from  afar  flocked  in  crowds  to  see  how  mankind  in 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  533 

"civilized  countries"  live.  The  refreshment- venders,  the  men  who 
checked  clogs,  sandals,  and  umbrellas,  did  a  thriving  business.  Proba- 
bly twenty  thousand  people  have  inspected  my  new  house. 

After  the  last  naruhodo  (Well,  I  never !  Is  it  possible !)  was  ejacu- 
lated, I  took  possession.  The  materials  of  seasoned  wood,  stone  chim- 
neys, tiled  roof,  wall-paper,  etc.,  are  of  the  best.  American  hardware, 
grates,  mantel-pieces,  glass  windows,  wardrobes,  etc.,  make  a  cozy  and 
comfortable  dwelling  for  the  inmate,  as  well  as  a  standing  educator  of 
the  native  public.*  Extension  -  table,  chairs,  book -cases,  and  other 
furniture  were  constructed  by  cabinet-makers  in  Fukui,  of  sound  old 
wood,  chiefly  keyaki.  An  exact  reproduction  of  the  writing-desk  of 
Charles  Dickens  left  with  "  the  empty  chair  "  at  Gadshill,  made  after  a 
picture  in  The  London  Illustrated  News,  came  from  the  same  skillful 
hands,  and  now  adorns  my  study. 

To-morrow  Fukui  bids  farewell  to  feudalism.  On  the  next  day  we 
shall  be  in  a  province  without  a  prince.  The  era  of  loyalty  is  passed. 
The  era  of  patriotism  has  come.  To-day  the  prince  sent  me  a  note 
of  farewell,  accompanied  by  a  present  of  choice  viands  in  a  picnic  box, 
gold-lacquered  in  shell-fish  designs,  which  he  begged  me  to  accept  as  a 
parting  token  of  regard.  He  also  requested  my  presence  in  the  main 
hall  of  the  castle,  at  the  valedictory  ceremonies  prior  to  his  departure 
to  Tokio,  where  he  is  to  retire  to  private  life.  This,  evening  his  six 
ministers  dined  with  me,  the  prince  being  absent  on  account  of  a 
death  in  his  household. 

October  1st. — From  an  early  hour  this  morning,  the  samurai  in  kami- 


*  It  was  originally  intended  to  build  four  houses — one  for  the  physician,  one 
for  the  English  teacher,  one  for  the  military  instructor,  and  one  for  myself.  The 
abolition  of  feudalism  and  the  centralization  of  the  government  changed  the  en- 
tire scheme.  Mr.  Alfred  Lucy,  an  English  gentleman,  who  had  been  my  co-labor- 
er for  about  two  months,  left  Fukui  in  June,  and  went  to  Awomori,  in  Rikuoku, 
to  introduce  English  methods  of  agriculture  and  stock-raising.  The  physician 
never  reached  our  feudal  capital.  Lieutenant  Brinckley,  of  the  Tenth  English 
Regiment,  was  retained  in  Tokio  by  the  Imperial  Government.  What  was  loss  to 
Fukui  became  immense  gain  to  all  Japanese  and  English-speaking  people  who 
wish  to  study  the  language  of  the  other.  The  Go-Oaku  Ffitori  Annul,  three  vol- 
umes, one  thousand  pages,  or  "  Guide  to  Self-instruction  in  the  Language,"  by 
Mr.  Brinckley,  English  officer  of  artillery,  printed  by  the  Insho  Kiyoku,  1875,  is, 
I  believe,  the  first  original  work  written  in  the  Japanese  language  by  a  foreigner. 
It  is  a  masterpiece  of  scholarship.  There  are  many  idioms  in  its  copious  lists  of 
which  Mr.  Brinckley  may  be  called  the  discoverer.  Its  issue  marks  a  new  era  of 
the  knowledge  of  English  in  Japan,  and  of  Japanese  by  foreigners.  After  I  left 
Fukui,  Mr.  E.  Mudgett,  of  Napa,  California,  and  Mr.  M.  N.Wyckoff,  A.M.,  a  grad- 
uate of  Rutgers  College,  continued  the  instruction  in  English  and  the  sciences. 


534  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

shimo  (ceremonial  dress)  have  been  preparing  for  the  farewell,  and 
have  been  assembling  in  the  castle.  I  went  over  to  the  main  hall  at 
nine  o'clock.  I  shall  never  forget  the  impressive  scene.  All  the  slid- 
ing paper  partitions  separating  the  rooms  were  removed,  making  one 
vast  area  of  matting.  Arranged  in  the  order  of  their  rank,  each  in 
his  starched  robes  of  ceremony,  with  shaven-crown,  and  gun-hammer 
top-knot,  with  hands  clasped  on  the  hilt  of  his  sword  resting  upright 
before  him  as  he  sat  on  his  knees,  were  the  three  thousand  samurai 
of  the  Fukui  clan.  Those  bowed  heads  were  busy  with  the  thought 
born  of  the  significance  of  the  scene.  It  was  more  than  a  farewell  to 
their  feudal  lord.  It  was  the  solemn  burial  of  the  institutions  under 
which  their  fathers  had  lived  for  seven  hundred  years.  Each  face 
seemed  to  wear  a  far-away  expression,  as  if  their  eyes  were  looking 
into  the  past,  or  striving  to  probe  an  uncertain  future. 

I  fancied  I  read  their  thoughts.  The  sword  is  the  soul  of  the  samu- 
rai, the  samurai  the  soul  of  Japan.  Is  the  one  to  be  ungirt  from  its 
place  of  honor,  to  be  thrown  aside  as  a  useless  tool,  to  make  way  for 
the  ink-pot  and  the  ledger  of  the  merchant?  Is  the  samurai  to  be- 
come less  than  the  trader  ?  Is  honor  to  be  reckoned  less  than  money  ? 
Is  the  spirit  of  Japan  to  be  abased  to  the  level  of  the  sordid  foreign- 
ers who  are  draining  the  wealth  of  Japan  ?  Our  children,  too,  what  is 
to  become  of  them  ?  Must  they  labor  and  toil,  and  earn  their  own 
bread  ?  What  are  we  to  do  when  our  hereditary  pensions  are  stop- 
ped, or  cut  down  to  a  beggar's  pittance  ?  Must  we,  whose  fathers 
were  glorious  knights  and  warriors,  and  whose  blood  and  spirit  we 
inherit,  be  mingled  hopelessly  in  the  common  herd  ?  Must  we,  who 
would  starve  in  honorable  poverty  rather  than  marry  one  of  our 
daughters  to  a  trader,  now  defile  our  family  line  to  save  our  lives  and 
fill  our  stomachs  ?  What  is  the  future  to  bring  us  ? 

These  seemed  to  be  the  thoughts  that  shadowed  that  sea  of  dark 
faces  of  waiting  vassals.  One  could  have  heard  a  pin  drop  after  the 
hush  that  announced  the  coming  of  the  daimio. 

Matsudaira  Mochiake,  late  Lord  of  Echizen,  and  feudal  head  of  the 
Fukui  clan,  who  was  to-morrow  to  be  a  private  nobleman,  now  ad- 
vanced down  the  wide  corridor  to  the  main  hall.  He  was  a  stern- 
visaged  man  of  perhaps  thirty-five  years  of  age.  He  was  dressed  in 
purple  satin  hakama,  with  inner  robe  of  white  satin,  and  outer  coat  of 
silk  crape  of  a  dark  slate  hue,  embroidered  on  sleeve,  back,  and  breast 
with  the  Tokugawa  crest.  In  his  girdle  was  thrust  the  usual  side- 
arm,  a  wakizaski,  or  dirk,  the  hilt  of  which  was  a  carved  and  frosted 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  535 

mass  of  solid  gold.  His  feet,  cased  in  white  socks,  moved  noiselessly 
over  the  matting.  As  he  passed,  every  head  was  bowed,  every  sword 
laid  prone  to  the  right,  and  Matsudaira,  with  deep  but  unexpressed 
emotion,  advanced  amidst  the  ranks  of  his  followers  to  the  centre  of 
the  main  hall.  There,  in  a  brief  and  noble  address,  read  by  his  chief 
minister,  the  history  of  the  clan  and  of  their  relations  as  lord  and  vas- 
sals, the  causes  which  had  led  to  the  revolution  of  1868,  the  results  of 
which  had  restored  the  imperial  house  to  power,  and  the  mikado's  rea- 
sons for  ordering  the  territorial  princes  to  rcsto're  their  fiefs,  were 
tersely  and  eloquently  recounted.  In  conclusion,  he  adjured  all  his 
followers  to  transfer  their  allegiance  wholly  to  the  mikado  and  the 
imperial  house.  Then,  wishing  them  all  success  and  prosperity  in 
their  new  relations,  and  in  their  persons,  their  families,  and  their  es- 
tates, in  chaste  and  fitting  language  he  bid  his  followers  solemn  fare- 
well. 

On  behalf  of  the  samurai,  one  of  their  number  then  read  an  ad- 
dress, expressive  of  their  feelings,  containing  kindly  references  to  the 
prince  as  their  former  lord,  and  declaring  their  purpose  henceforth  to 
be  faithful  subjects  of  the  mikado  and  the  imperial  house. 

This  terminated  the  ceremony.  The  ex-daimio  and  his  ministers 
then  left  the  castle  hall,  and  he  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  the 
American  instructor.  I  met  and  welcomed  him,  and  he  sat  down  for 
a  few  minutes.  He  thanked  me  cordially  for  my  efforts  to  instruct 
the  young  men  of  Fukui,  and  invited  me  to  visit  him  in  Tokio.  In  re- 
turn, I  expressed  my  indebtedness  for  his  many  kindnesses  to  me,  and 
then,  after  the  manner  of  American  politeness  and  Japanese  courtesy, 
we  exchanged  farewells. 

October  2d. — The  whole  city  seems  to  be  astir  to-day.  The  streets 
are  crowded  with  citizens  in  their  best  clothes,  and  thousands  are  in 
from  the  country.  They  have  come  to  see  their  prince  for  the  last 
time.  It  is  a  farewell  gathering.  Many  hundreds  of  old  men,  wom- 
en, and  children  are  weeping.  A  regiment  of  one  thousand  men  es- 
cort him  to  Takefu,  twelve  miles  off.  A  few  faithful  retainers,  his 
physician  Hashimoto,  and  his  body-servants  accompany  him  to  To- 
kio. A  similar  scene  to  that  of  to-day  has  probably  been  witnessed 
in  many  castled  cities  in  Japan  during  this  month.* 


*  In  a  few  bans  the  people  rebelled  against  the  orders  of  the  Imperial  Govern 
ment,  refusing  to  let  their  prince  depart;  but  in  general  every  farewell  and  de- 
parture was  sad,  quiet,  and  decorous. 


536  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

December  1st. — Great  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  city  since 
the  departure  of  the  prince,  and  the  change  of  the  han  (feudal  tenure) 
into  ken  (prefecture  of  the  Imperial  Government).  Most  of  the  high 
officers  have  been  called  by  the  Imperial  Government  to  Tokio.  Mit 
siioka  is  now  mayor  of  Tokio.  Ogasawara,  Tsutsumi,  and  several  oth- 
ers have  been  made  officials  of  other  Teen.  It  is  the  policy  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  send  the  men  of  one  ken  to  act  as  officers  in  another,  and 
thus  break  up  local  prejudices.  It  is  a  grand  idea.  Sasaki  Gonroku 
has  been  called  to  &  position  in  the  Department  of  Public  Works. 
Many  of  the  best  teachers  in  the  school  have  been  given  official  places 
in  the  capital.  My  best  friends  and  helpers  have  left  Fukui ;  and  now 
my  advanced  students,  their  support  at  home  being  no  longer  suffi- 
cient, are  leaving  to  seek  their  fortune  in  Yokohama  or  Tokio.  My 
classes  are  being  depleted.  Fukui  is  no  longer  the  capital  of  a  prince. 
It  is  simply  an  inland  city.  I  can  not  blame  the  young  men  for  wish- 
ing to  see  the  new  life  and  civilization  of  the  nation  at  the  ports  and 
capital,  but  my  loneliness  and  sense  of  exile  increase  daily.  Since  the 
summer — so  I  am  told — over  seven  hundred  families  have  left  Fukui. 
Tokio  is  making  up  in  population  the  loss  of  Yedo  in  1862,  when  the 
daimios  withdrew.  I  have  not  over  half  of  my  best  students  left. 
The  military  school  has  been  disbanded,  and  the  gunpowder  works 
and  the  rifle  factory  removed.  Three  companies  of  imperial  troops, 
in  uniform  of  French  style,  with  the  mikado's  crest  on  their  caps,  and 
the  national  flag  (a  red  sun  in  a  white  field)  as  their  standard,  now 
occupy  the  city  barracks.  The  old  local  and  feudal  privileges  arc  be- 
ing abolished.  Taxes  are  being  made  uniform  all  over  the  country. 
The  Buddhist  theological  school  has  been  broken  up  by  orders  from 
Tokio.  Shinto  lecturers  are  endeavoring  to  convert  the  people  to  the 
old  faith.  All  the  Shinto  temples  which  have  been  in  any  way  influ- 
enced by  Buddhism  are  being  more  vigorously  purged  and  restored  in 
pure  Shinto  style.  The  outer  wall  of  the  castle  has  been  leveled,  and 
the  moat  filled  up.  The  gates  have  been  sold  for  their  stone,  wood, 
and  copper.  Many  old  yashikis  of  ancient  and  once  wealthy  families 
have  been  torn  down  and  converted  into  shops.  The  towns-people  and 
shop-keepers  are  jubilant  at  getting  a  foot-hold  on  the  sites  hitherto 
reserved  to  samurai.  Old  armor,  arrows,  spears,  flags,  saddlery,  dresses, 
norimonos,  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of  the  old  feudal  days  can  now 
be  bought  dirt  cheap.  The  prince's  mansion  has  been  demolished, 
and  every  thing  left  in  it  sold.  I  got  from  it  a  pair  of  bronze  stir- 
rups and  a  marble  model  of  Fuji.  All  the  horses  in  the  stables  of  the 


THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  537 

clan  have  been  disposed  of  at  auction.  Every  thing  pertaining  to  feu- 
dal Fukui  is  passing  away.  Japan  is  becoming  unified.  Nevertheless, 
it  causes  some  local  suffering,  and  the  poverty  of  many  families,  once 
in  comfort,  is  increasing. 

December  15th. — The  wild  ducks  and  geese  have  come  back  from 
Yezo,  and  are  thick  in  the  fields.  Great  numbers  of  them  are  capt- 
ured by  the  samurai,  who  go  out 
at  early  morning  and  at  sunset,  on 
the  hills  around  the  city,  armed 
with  a  huge  triangular  net,  set  in 
a  bamboo  frame  and  pole.  A 
dexterous  hunter  can  throw  this 
up  twenty  feet  in  the  air.  Thus 
outspread,  the  flying  birds  are  en- 
tangled. This  is  called  sakadori 
(hunting  on  the  heights).  Some 

Wild  Goose  in  Flight.  ,      , 

men  can  take  two  ducks  at  once, 

or  snare  a  fat  goose  at  a  throw,  but  many  fail  or  wait  in  vain.  The 
eligible  places  of  vantage  are  bought  for  a  trifling  tax  from  the  ken. 
To  ward  off  the  damp,  the  fowlers  dress  in  grass  coat  and  wide  rush 
hat.  Every  morning  I  see  them  coming  over  the  bridge.  With  pole, 
tunic,  and  hat  slung  on  back  like  shields,  they  appear  as  old  warriors 
in  battle  array.  It  is  said  that  on  certain  nights  the  headless  ghosts 
of  Shibata  and  his  warriors  ride  on  horseback  over  this  bridge  into  his 
old  castle  grounds.  The  country  people  imagine  they  can  hear  the  clat- 
ter of  hoofs,  and  see  this  troop  of  headless  horsemen,  on  certain  still 
nights;  but,  although  I  have  lived  seven  months  on  the  site  of  his  old 
castle  in  which  he  died,  I  never  beheld  the  old  hero's  sha'de ;  nor  have 
I  been  tempted  to  scare  any  native  Ichabod  Crane  by  playing  Brom 
Bones,  though  pumpkins  are  plentiful  here. 

December  25th. —  Yesterday  a  party  of  students  cut  down  young 
pines,  hemlock  boughs,  cryptomeria,  arbor -vita?,  and  other  greenery, 
and  decked  my  house,  in  and  out,  in  Christmas  garb.  The  large  steel 
plate  of  "American  Authors"  received  especial  honor.  My  cook  and 
his  family  and  the  students  last  night  hung  up  their  tabi  (mitten- 
socks,  or  "foot -gloves"),  in  lieu  of  stockings.  This  morning  they 
found  them  overflowing  with  American  good  things,  both  sweet  to 
the  palate  and  useful  to  the  hand.  Santa  Glaus  did  not  even  forget 
the  tiny  white  socks  of  little  Chenkey,  who  is  alternately  dumfounded 
and  uproariously  merry. 


538  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

Officers,  citizens,  and  students  visited  me  during  the  day,  in  accord- 
ance with  my  invitation.  I  kept  open  house  for  all,  and  told  them  of 
Christ's  birth,  life,  work,  and  death.  Many  had  never  heard  of  Christ 
except  as  part  of  the  Jashumon  (corrupt  sect),  on  the  kosatsu,  which 
hang  near  the  main  gate  of  the  city.  One  bright  boy,  after  peering 
around  the  house,  vainly  seeking  something,  finally  whispered  in  my 
ear,  "  Where  is  your  go,d-house  ?" 

January  'Ith,  1872. — The  city  to-day  swarms  with  country  people. 
An  immense  festival  in  honor  of  Shinran  is  being  held.  The  streets 
are  crowded,  and  the  shops  in  full  blast.  The  Shin  temples  are  pack- 
ed with  people.  Even  the  porch  and  steps  and  temple  yards  are  full 
of  pious  folk.  In  the  large  kitchens  attached  to  the  temple  are  a 
number  of  iron  boilers,  each  containing  several  bushels  of  rice.  Vege- 
tables are  being  cooked  in  other  pots,  and  many  hundreds  of  hungry 
folks  are  eating  in  the  refectory,  some  bringing  their  own  food.  The 
priests  very  politely  took  me  through  the  rear  part  of  the  temple,  be- 
yond the  splendid  altar,  where  I  could  see  the  vast  crowd,  and  through 
the  quarters  occupied  by  the  resident  bonzes.  The  sight  of  so  many 
thousand  faces  of  people  with  hands  clasped  in  prayer,  with  their 
rosaries,  murmuring  their  petitions  ("  Namu  Amida  Butsu ")  in  the 
great  hall ;  then  of  the  hundreds  of  hungry  people  feeding ;  children 
and  families  resting — many  of  them  had  walked  from  ten  to  twenty 
miles ;  the  cooks  in  the  fire-light,  begrimed  with  the  smoke  and  sweat 
of  the  kitchen ;  the  waiters  hurrying  to  and  fro ;  the  receiving  and 
counting  of  money,  made  a  picture  of  Buddhism  in  its  popular  phases 
I  can  never  forget. 

January  10th. — Some  months  ago  I  addressed  a  communication  to 
the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  in  Tokio,  urging  the  establishment 
of  a  polytechnic  school,  giving  plans  and  a  few  details.  Evidently 
such  an  enterprise  has  already  been  determined  upon.  To-day  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  the  Mayor  of  Tokio,  intimating  that  I  was  to  be 
invited  to  the  capital  to  fill  a  position  in  such  a  school.  Another  let- 
ter, by  the  same  mail,  from  the  Minister  of  Education,  through  the 
foreign  superintendent  of  the  Imperial  College,  invited  me  to  fill  one 
of  the  professorships  in  the  polytechnic  school  (Shem  Mon  Gakko) 
about  to  be  formed.  An  immediate  answer  is  expected. 

January  11  th. — I  was  called  to  the  ken-cho  to-day,  the  sanji  ex- 
pressing their  urgent  wish  that  I  should  remain  in  Fukui,  stating  also 
that  the  citizens  of  Fukui,  anticipating  the  invitation  from  Tdkio,  had 
petitioned  the  ken-chv  officials  to  keep  the  American  teacher  in  Fukui, 


THE  LAST   YEAR  OF  FEUDALISM.  539 

if  possible.  Having,  however,  lost  most  of  my  best  friends  and  ad- 
vanced students  from  the  city,  and  the  loneliness  having  become  al- 
most intolerable,  I  have  resolved  to  go  to  Tokio.  For  over  six  months 
I  have  not  seen  one  of  my  own  race.  The  tax  on  the  nervous  system 
of  being  isolated,  looked  at  as  a  stranger  and  a  curiosity,  made  the 
target  of  so  many  eyes,  and  the  constant  friction  and  chafing  of  one 
Caucasian  against  a  multitude  of  sharp  angles  of  an  Asiatic  civilization, 
as  represented  by  servants,  petty  officials,  and  ignorant  people;  and 
the  more  delicate  work  of  polite  fencing  with  intellectual  rapiers 
against  cultured  men  educated  under  other  systems  of  morals  and 
ideas;  the  ruin  of  temper  and  principle  which  such  a  lonely  life 
threatens,  are  more  than  I  wish  to  attempt  to  bear,  when  duty  as  well 
as  pleasure  seems  to  invite  me  to  the  capital. 

From  the  people,  officers,  and  students  I  have  received  kindness 
and  attentions  both  unexpected  and  undeserved.  I  find  in  them  most 
of  the  tenderest  feelings  that  soften  and  adorn  human  nature.  Con- 
fidence, sympathy,  respect,  even  affection  from  my  students,  have  been 
lavishly  bestowed.  I  have  never  had  a  quarrel  with  any  one,  nor  have 
I  been  injured  or  insulted  in  any  way. 

January  '•list. — From  morning  till  night  my  house  was  thronged 
with  people  in  the  city — students,  officials,  mothers,  fathers,  and  chil- 
dren, relatives  of  the  students — who  came  to  bid  me  good-bye.  Ev- 
ery one  of  them,  according  to  custom,  brought  a  present,  sometimes 
handsome  and  costly.  In  return,  each  received  a  trifle  or  refreshments, 
of  which  the  solid  remnants  were  wrapped  in  white  paper,  put  into 
the  sleeve,  and  carried  away,  as  is  the  habit.  "  Leavings  are  lucky," 
saith  the  Japanese  proverb. 

During  my  life  in  a  feudal  city  in  Japan  far  away  from  foreigners, 
I  have  seen  the  Japanese  at  home.  It  has  sometimes  seemed  to  me, 
in  my  walks  through  the  old  castle,  or  along  the  moats,  or  upon  the 
ramparts,  in  the  cemeteries,  in  the  houses  of  the  people,  on  the  mount- 
ains, in  my  rides  through  the  villages,  that  I  was  in  fairy -land  or  in  a 
dream.  Yet  these  people  are  just  like  ourselves,  their  hearts  the  same 
as  ours.  Their  emotions  and  traits,  both  noble  and  despicable,  are  twin 
to  those  which  belong  to  mankind  between  the  Alleghanics  and  the 
Atlantic.  This  is  a  trite  truism.  Yet  in  its  truth  consists  its  novelty. 
When  men  of  differing  climes  and  nations  see  behind  each  other's 
mail  of  codes,  manners,  education,  and  systems  their  common  human- 
ity, the  hope  of  their  dwelling  in  peace  as  children  of  one  Father  is 
no  longer  a  chimera. 


540  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRIC. 

Fukui  and  Echizen  must  decrease  that  Dai  Nippon  may  increase. 
People  complain  that  the  empire  is  becoming  too  much  centralized. 
The  capital  and  ports  are  absorbing  the  strength  of  the  whole  coun- 
try. It  is  best.  Only  by  centralization  at  this  time  can  true  nation- 
ality be  attained.  Make  the  heart  strong,  and  the  blood  will  flow  to 
all  the  extremities. 

Japan's  record  of  progress  for  1871  is  noble.  The  mikado's  gov- 
ernment is  no  longer  an  uncertainty.  A  national  army  has  been 
formed ;  plots  and  insurrections  have  been  crushed  ;  the  press  has  be- 
come one  of  the  motors  of  civilization ;  already  several  newspapers 
are  established  in  the  capital.  The  old  local  forms  of  authority  are 
merged  into  the  national,  and  taxes  and  government  are  equalized 
throughout  the  country.  Feudalism  is  dead.  An  embassy  has  been 
sent  to  Europe,  not  composed  of  catspaw  officials  of  low  rank  to  rep- 
resent the  "  tycoon,"  but  nobles  and  cabinet  ministers  of  the  mikado's 
empire,  to  plead  for  Japan  and  the  true  sovereign.  The  mikado,  cast- 
ing away  old  traditions,  now  appears  among  his  people,  requiring  no 
humiliating  obeisance.  Marriage  among  all  classes  is  now  permitted, 
and  caste  is  to  disappear.  The  eta  and  hinin  are  now  citizens,  pro- 
tected by  law.  The  swords  of  the  samurai  are  laid  aside.  The  peace 
and  order  throughout  the  country  appear  wonderful.  Progress  is  ev- 
erywhere the  watchword.  Is  not  this  the  finger  of  God? 

Midnight. — It  has  been  snowing  steadily  for  seven  days.  All  the 
objects  five  or  six  feet  high  are  covered  up.  The  landscape  is  a  sea 
of  white.  A  great  many  students  wish  to  go  with  me  to  Tokio,  but 
the  sanji  have  laid  an  interdict  on  all  for  one  month.  The  three  stu- 
dents from  Higo  will,  however,  accompany  me.  I  rely  much  on  the 
fertile  mind,  calm  skill,  and  enthusiastic  regard  of  "  Bearded  Higo." 
Sahei,  my  servant,  will  attend  me,  and  Inouye  will  be  my  escort.  All 
my  baggage  is  now  packed  up.  It  will  be  carried  on  men's  shoulders 
over  mountain  and  valley  for  three  hundred  and  thirty  miles  to  Tokio. 

In  vain  croakers  and  sincere  friends  have  endeavored  to  dissuade 
me  from  this  severe  winter  journey,  or  frighten  me  with  stories  of 
wolves,  robbers,  or  the  dangers  of  mountain  passes,  avalanches,  or  of 
being  lost  in  the  snow.  I  wish  to  see  a  Japanese  winter  in  the  high- 
lands, and  to  tramp  over  the  Tokaido,  and  visit  Shidzuoka.  God 
willing,  I  shall  be  in  Tokio  by  February  4th.  Farewell,  Fukui,  thou 
hast  been  a  well  of  blessing ;  for  in  thee  I  have  found  some  truth. 


A  TRAMP  THROUGH  JAPAN.  541 


XVI. 

A  TRAMP  THROUGH  JAPAN. 

Jamiary  22rf,  1872. — A  pitiless  blast.  Snow  drifting  in  heaps,  and 
whirling  fine  dust.  Baggage  -  carriers  have  gone  ahead.  Forty  stu- 
dents wait  to  escort  me  to  Morinoshita  (Beneath  the  Grove),  three 
miles  distant.  On  Daimio  Avenue  a  crowd  of  officials,  citizens,  and 
lads  wait  to  say  farewell. 

Sayonaras  and  good  wishes  are  exchanged  with  mutual  regret.  The 
line  of  march  is  over  New  Bridge.  In  Boat-landing  Street  snow  lies 
eight  feet  deep,  with  constant  additions  from  the  house-tops.  Out  on 
the  plain,  past  the  city,  the  blast  is  horizontal,  its  force  overpowering, 
its  sting  terrible.  It  is  difficult  to  keep  the  path.  The  cold  is  in- 
tense. Yet  the  students  jest,  laugh,  and  sing  lively  songs,  as  though 
on  a  summer's  day. 

At  Morinoshita  we  halt.  The  younger  students  return  to  Fukui. 
Our  party  and  six  others  push  on  to  Takefu.  Here  a  farewell  ban- 
quet is  given  me.  Fourteen  tables  are  set.  Two  hours  of  fun  and 
cozy  comfort  pass.  The  hotel  is  warm.  It  seems  madness  to  go  out 
in  the  storm.  Yet  I  will  go. 

We  send  out  for  kagos.  or  horses.  We  can  get  neither.  Not  a 
man  will  venture,  even  a  ri,  for  triple  the  price.  We  lose  two  hours 
in  waiting,  and  at  four  o'clock  set  out  on  foot.  One  mile  of  flounder- 
ing, and  our  strength  is  strained.  It  is  getting  dark.  The  landscape 
is  level  white.  Even  the  stone  idols  are  snowed  up.  No  field,  water- 
course, house,  bush,  or  shrine  is  in  sight.  We  can  not  see  a  hundred 
feet  before  us,  even  where  the  furious  wind  allows  us  to  look  ahead. 
We  have  lost  the  path.  Our  case  is  desperate.  To  advance  or  return 
is  alike  impossible.  Total  darkness  is  imminent.  To  spend  the  night 
here  is  to  freeze.  But  look  !  a  lantern  glimmers  in  the  distance.  We 
shout.  The  sounds  are  twisted  out  of  our  mouths,  and  swept  into  the 
snow-drift.  Slowly  the  lantern  vanishes,  and  with  it  our  hopes  disap- 
pear. 

Night  swoops  on  us.     For  another  hour  we  flounder,  vainly  seeking 


542  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

the  path.  We  are  on  the  edge  of  despair.  "  Bearded  Higo,"  calm 
and  brave,  is  vigorously  punching  the  snow  to  find  bottom.  Eureka ! 
He  has  struck  the  path.  No  pick  of  miner  or  drill  of  engineer  ever 
struck  gold  or  oil  with  intenser  joy.  We  mount  the  crest  of  safety 
from  our  white  abyss.  Our  leader  keeps  the  ridge :  we  follow.  We 
arc  often  blown  off  or  fall  out,  but  his  cane  is  surer  than  witch-hazel 
or  divining-rod.  We  wade  a  mile  farther.  A  shout  from  "  Bearded 
Higo"  announces  a  village.  We  peer  through  the  blast.  A  house- 
gable  looms  up.  Well  named  is  Imadzuku  (Now  we  rest).  We 
crouch  under  the  porch  while  one  hies  in  quest  of  an  inn.  We  enter 
not  a  palace ;  but  cheery  welcome  glorifies  host  and  house.  We 
shake  off,  doff,  and  sit  at  the  hearth,  watching  the  cookery.  Rice, 
bean-cheese,  daikon,  mushroom,  fish,  are  served.  Then  we  take  up  our 
beds  and  walk.  With  feet  under  kotatsu,  come  rosy  slumbers  and 
dreams  of  home. 

January  23d. — Snow,  snow,  snow.  Inouye  has  hired  for  me  eight 
stalwart  men,  grasping  staves,  and  shod  with  snow-shoes  of  birch 
boughs,  two  feet  long,  one  foot  wide,  and  well  wattled,  who  wait  at 
the  door.  Their  leader  punches  the  drifts  for  a  footing,  which  on  the 
mountains  is  tolerable,  on  the  plains  fearfully  bad,  often  through  slush 
and  icy  water.  I  wear  straw  boots :  though  wet,  they  keep  the  feet 
warm.  After  some  miles,  we  tug  up  a  steep  pass  with  a  warm  name, 
Yunoo  (Hot-water  Tail).  Chattering  girls,  in  rival  inns,  give  us  noisy 
welcome.  We  sit  down,  drink  tea,  and  gossip.  A  priest  on  his  way  to 
Takefu  last  night  lost  his  path,  and  froze  to  death.  A  postman  was 
struck  by  an  avalanche,  knocked  down,  hurt,  and  nearly  smothered. 

We  resume  our  march.  Many  tracks  of  avalanches,  twenty  feet 
wide,  are  seen.  One  crashes  and  tumbles  just  in  front  of  us.  I  notice 
that  the  clapboard  roofs  of  houses  are  weighted  down  by  stones,  like 
those  on  Swiss  chalets.  The  tracks  of  boar,  bear,  foxes,  and  monkeys 
are  numerous.  It  is  the  hunter's  harvest-time.  Dressed  carcasses  are 
on  sale  in  every  village.  I  wonder  how  a  Darwinian  steak  would  taste. 
"  No,  thank  you  ;  no  monkey  for  me  !"  is  my  response  to  an  invitation 
to  taste  my  ancestors.  Good  people,  you  need  "  science "  to  teach 
you  what  cannibals  you  are.  ^ 

At  1.30  P.M.  we  reach  Imajo.  At  the  huge  fire-place,  I  warm  and 
smoke  myself  till  I  learn  how  it  feels  to  be  a  dried  herring.  Our 
food  is  sauced  with  hunger  and  hospitality.  Verily,  it  is  delightful 
to  meet  unspoiled  Japanese,  who  have  never  encountered  civilization 
or  drunken  sailors. 


A   TRAMP  THROUGH  JAPAN.  543 

At  3.30  I  mount  a  horse  who  has  two  legs  and  no  tail.  The  sad- 
dle— a  bundle  of  straw — rests  on  the  man's  loins.  I  bestride  him, 
my  legs  on  his  hips,  and  arms  round  his  neck.  I  can  choke  him  if  I 
like.  I  grip  him  tightly  at  dangerous  places.  These  mountaineers 
think  nothing  of  this  work  of  carrying  a  man  of  sixteen-stone  weight. 
Each  man  has  a  staff  to  prop  me  up  when  he  stops  to  blow  and  rest. 
Riding  man-back  is  pleasant,  unless  the  animal  (ippiki)  is  extravagant 
with  pomatum,  or  his  head-kerchief  and  the  wash-tub  are  strangers. 
The  horse-men  carry  us  one  ri.  Snow  is  too  deep :  I  dismount  and 
plod  on.  Among  solemn  groves  of  pine,  walls  of  rocks  and  hills, 
darkness  falls;  but  the  moon  silvers  the  forest,  burnishes  the  snow, 
reveals  mystic  shadows.  Our  six  bearers  light  four  huge  torches  of 
rice-straw  leaves  and  twigs,  ten  feet  long  and  six  inches  thick.  The 
lurid  glare  lights  up  the  gorges.  Prismatic  splendors  dance  in  the 
red  fire-light.  Snow  crystals  and  pendant  icicles  become  chandeliers. 
Intense  fatigue  can  not  blind  me  to  the  glories  of  this  night-march. 

At  nine  o'clock  the  path  is  but  a  few  inches  wide.  To  miss  a  step 
is  a  serious  matter.  It  plunges  me  to  my  waist  in  soft  snow.  The 
bearers  pull  or  pry  me  out.  Every  step  is  misery.  Another  seems 
an  impossibility.  Yet  none  else  of  the  party  says  a  word.  Admira- 
ble is  the  spirit  of  the  Japanese  in  hardship.  The  last  ri  is  torture  to 
me.  At  last  a  light  gleams  above  us.  We  file  through  the  village 
street.  Kindly  welcome  and  tender  care  are  mine  from  all.  Sahei 
undresses  me  like  a  child.  My  limbs  no  sooner  free,  I  sink,  exhaust- 
ed, asleep. 

January  24th. — I  am  too  stiff  to  stand.  I  feel  like  singing  the  col- 
lege-song, "  Saw  my  leg  off,"  and  with  emphasis  on  the  word  "  short." 
I  hobble  about  for  a  few  minutes.  My  joints  relax.  Our  path  lies 
through  glorious  valleys  charged  with  vitalizing  air.  Amidst  such 
scenery  I  forget  my  limbs.  We  hear  the  shouts  of  hunters.  At  ten 
o'clock  we  leave  Echizen  and  enter  Omi.  In  the  village,  at  which  we 
dine  on  wild-pork  steaks,  omelet,  rice,  and  turnips,  snow  lies  level  with 
the  eaves,  shields  of  bamboo  making  a  corridor  between  snow  and 
houses.  Our  host,  Nakano  Kawachi,  has  speared  eight  hogs  since 
snow  fell.  Strings  of  dried  persimmons  hang  from  his  rafters  like 
dried  apples  in  an  old-time  New  England  kitchen.  They  look  and 
taste  like  figs.  The  small  boys  are  crazy  with  delight  at  the  strange 
sight  of  a  foreigner.  A  feint  to  scare  them  scatters  the  crowd  and 
leaves  a  dozen  sprawling  in  the  snow.  At  Tsubae  we  spend  the 
night.  The  inns  are  full.  Our  rooms  are  poor.  The  nomi  (Pulex 


544 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


irritans)  bite  unusually  hard.  This  is  a  rare  behavior  for  them  in 
winter. 

January  25th. — Breakfast  is  flavored  with  fun  and  bright  eyes. 
An  extremely  pretty,  pearly  -  teethed,  sweet -voiced,  and  bright  eyed 
girl  waits  on  us.  Her  merry  laugh  and  chatter  make  amends  for 
shabby  quarters.  An  unusually  generous  fee  from  the  foreigner  is  on 
account  of  her  reminding  him  of  bright  eyes  in  the  home  land.  Faces 
here  in  Japan  recall  familiar  faces  long  known,  and  every  phase  of 
character  in  New  York  is  duplicated  here. 

We  are  descending  the  highlands  of  Echizen  and  Omi  to  the  plains 
of  Mino  and  Owari.  Weather  grows  warmer,  villages  more  numer- 
ous, road  more  regular.  We  are  in  a  silk  region.  Plantations  of 
mulberry  -  trees,  cut  to  grow  only  six  feet  high,  abound.  Lake  Biwa 
lies  in  the  distance,  a  picture  of  blue  massively  framed  in  mountains. 
Dining  at  Kinomoto  (Foot  of  the  Tree),  we  embark  in  kagos.  In  these 


How  we  rode  to  Odaui. 

vehicles  I  always  fall  asleep  at  the  wrong  end ;  my  head  remaining 
wide  awake,  while  my  feet  are  incorrigibly  somnolent.  I  lie  in  all 
shapes,  from  a  coil  of  rope  to  a  pair  of  inverted  dividers,  with  head 
wrapped  from  the  cold  and  hardly  enough  face  visible  to  make  a  mon- 
key. In  the  fine  hotel  at  Odani,  the  old  lady  hostess  is  very  mother- 
ly to  her  first  foreign  guest,  until  I  settle  in  kotatsu  in  the  "daimio's 
chamber,"  with  maps  and  books  on  the  floor,  when  she  resumes  her 
spectacles  and  sewing.  Round  the  room  hang  gilt  and  lacquered  tab- 
lets of  the  lords  and  nobles  who  have  lodged  at  this  house.  My 
prince's  card  is  among  them.  The  old  lady  brings  me  sheets  of  paper 
to  write  my  name,  poetry,  wise  saws,  etc.,  upon,  as  mementoes.  After 
supper,  Inouy6  "  fights  his  battles  o'er."  A  bullet  grazed  his  fore- 


A   TRAMP  THROUGH  JAPAN.  545 

head  in  the  campaign  of  1868-'70.  The  students  recount  the  lore  of 
the  places  passed,  and  the  Guai  Shi  narratives.  "  To-morrow,"  sayr 
Inouye,  "  we  shall  cross  the  battle-field  of  Sekigahara." 

January  26th. — We  have  left  the  snow  behind  us.  Through  mul- 
berry plantations,  over  dark  and  loamy  soil,  we  pass  under  the  shad- 
ow of  Ibuki  yarna,  his  glorious  form  now  infolded  with  clouds,  now  re- 
vealed in  sunshine.  We  pass  the  tomb  of  beautiful  Tokiwa,  mother 
of  Yoritomo.  Every  step  is  historic  ground.  The  study  of  topog- 
raphy is  a  wonderful  help  to  the  imagination.  We  are  now  on  Ja- 
pan's greatest  battle-field.  The  war  panorama  of  October,  1600,  ap- 
pears before  me.  Here  stood  the  head  -  quarters  of  lyeyasu ;  there 
were  the  lines  of  battle  ;  over  that  road  the  army  of  the  league  march- 
ed to  take  up  their  position ;  and  beyond  stood  the  Jesuit  monas- 
tery where,  botanists  say,  Portuguese  plants  grow,  and  flowers  bloom. 
Here  sat  the  victor  who  knotted  the  cords  of  his  helmet. 

We  are  now  on  the  Tokaido.  This  I  see  at  once,  from  its  width, 
bustling  air,  and  number  of  tea-houses.  Over  this  road  tramped  the 
armies  of  lyeyasu,  plodded  the  missionaries  of  the  Cross  and  Keys, 
moved  the  processions  of  the  daimios,  advanced  the  loyal  legions  from 
Fushimi  to  Hakodate.  To-day  a  different  sight  makes  my  heart  beat 
and  my  eyes  kindle.  Emerging  from  a  year's  exile,  here,  in  the  heart 
of  Japan,  I  see  before  me  telegraph-poles  ;  their  bare,  grim,  silent  maj- 
esty is  as  eloquent  as  pulses  of  light.  The  electric  wires  will  soon  con- 
nect the  sacred  city  of  the  Sun  Land  with  the  girdle  that  clasps  the 
globe.  Verily,  Puck,  thou  hast  kept  thy  word  even  in  Japan.  Morse, 
thou  hast  another  monument. 

A  glorious  sunset  writes  in  prophecies  of  purple  and  gold  the 
weather  "  probabilities  "  for  the  remainder  of  my  journey.  At  Ogaki 
—the  persimmon  of  lyeyasu — "  the  splendor  falls  on  castle  walls,"  and 
evening  glow  gilds  the  old  towers  as  we  enter  the  historic  gate-ways. 
We  spend  the  night  here. 

January  21th. — I  meet  many  of  the  jin-riki-shas  of  modern,  and 
pass  a  grassy  mound  of  skulls  and  skeletons,  the  memorial  of  some 
battle  in  ancient,  Japan.  The  road,  lined  with  pine-trees,  which  over- 
arch and  interlace,  seems  like  a  great  cathedral  aisle.  We  pass  over 
long  embankments,  eighteen  feet  high  and  forty  feet  wide,  made  to 
keep  off  the  tidal  waves  which  sometimes  arise.  At  Okoshi,  we  leave 
Mirio,  and  enter  Owari,  with  its  many  large  towns  and  cities.  At 
Kujosu  we  visit  Nobunaga's  old  castle.  At  4  P.M.  we  enter  Nagoya, 
the  fourth  largest  city  in  Japan,  with  the  finest  castle  outside  of  Tokio, 


546  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

Two  of  its  towers  were  formerly  surmounted  with  huge  fish  made  of 
copper,  covered  with  plates  of  gold;  A  robber,  who  mounted  on  an 
immense  kite  in  a  gale  at  night  and  tried  to  steal  the  gold  scales,  was 
detected,  boiled  to  death  in  oil,  and  the  raising  of  large  kites  ever 
afterward  prohibited  in  Owari.  Nagoya  is  noted  for  fans,  porcelain? 
and  cloisonne  enamel-ware.  Miya  is  its  sea-port. 

January  28th. — Leave  Chirio  at  bright  starlight,  witnessing  a  glori- 
ous sunrise.  At  9  A.M.  I  met  an  American  gentleman,  with  five  bette, 
on  a  walk  from  Tokio  to  Kobe.  Our  meeting  is  mutually  pleasant. 
His  is  the  first  white  face  I  have  seen  for  some  months.  Night  spent 
at  Shirasuka,  in  Totomi. 

January  29th.  —  White  Fuji,  sixty  miles  distant,  rises  before  me 
like  a  revelation.  Almost  simultaneously  on  my  right  I  behold  the 
sea,  broad,  blue,  myriad-smiling.  Thalatte  f  Thalatte!  I  have  not  seen 
the  Pacific,  nor  Fuji,  for  very  nearly  a  year.  At  Araii,  we  take  boat 
and  cross  an  arm  of  the  sea,  to  a  town  famous  for  its  shell-fish.  I  send 
a  letter  to  Clark  at  Shidzuoka.  We  are  now  in  the  coldest  part  of 
the  year,  called  kan,  but  when  near  Hamamatsu  (Strand -pine)  two 
runners,  naked  to  the  breech-cloth,  whizz  past  me.  On  the,  shoulders 
of  each  is  a  live  fish  wrapped  in  straw.  Epicures  in  Hamamatsu  like 
to  eat  fish  fresh  from  the  net,  within  an  hour  of  capture,  and  human 
legs  take  the  place  of  the  lightning  express.  The  fleet  postman  is 
also  clothed  only  in  a  suit  of  cuticle  with  loin-strap.  A  bundle  of  let- 
ters is  slung  on  a  pole  over  his  shoulder.  In  the  city  we  meet  many 
natives  between  boots  and  hats,  in  the  toggery,  or  a  travesty  of  the 
tight  clothes,  of  civilization.  I  see  condensed  milk,  beer,  Yankee 
clocks,  buttons,  petroleum ;  pictures  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  Bismarck, 
George  Washington,  Gladstone ;  English  cutlery  and  umbrellas ;  and 
French  soap,  brandy,  and  wine. 

Fishermen  seem  to  comprise  the  bulk  of  population  in  Totomi. 
Millions  of  small  fish  lie  drying  along  shore,  to  be  used  as  manure. 
The  women  are  busy  weaving  cotton  cloth  in  narrow  breadths  on  rude 
looms.  The  salt-makers  go  to  the  surf  with  buckets,  saturate  patches 
of  sand  repeatedly  with  sea -water,  which,  evaporated  by  solar  heat 
and  wind,  leaves  a  highly  impregnated  sand,  which  is  loached,  and  the 
strong  brine  boiled  down  or  sun-evaporated.  In  the  morning,  fisher- 
men keep  watch  on  the  hills  till  they  descry  the  incoming  shoals,  when 
they  descend  and  catch  them.  Sweet-potatoes  are  plentiful  here,  and 
the  orange-trees  glitter  with  their  golden  fruitage.  We  are  within  a 
few  days  of  New-year's.  All  womankind  in  Japan  is  busy  at  house 


A   TRAMP  THROUGH  JAPAN.  547 

cleaning.  To  us  travelers,  who  are  usually  at  windward  of  the  mat- 
beaters  and  sweepers,  it  occasions  much  dust,  and  more  disgust.  In  a 
village  noted  for  silk,  crapes,  and  embroidery,  I  make  purchases,  as 
souvenirs  of  my  journey,  as  the  Japanese  invariably  do.  I  also  meet 
two  signs  of  the  new  national  life ;  they  are  postage-stamps  and  silver 
yen,  or  dollars. 

January  30tk. — Start  from  Matsuyama.  Clark  will  be  coming  from 
Shidzuoka  to-day  to  meet  me.  Who  shall  catch  first  sight  of  the  oth- 
er? At  3.30  P.M.,  while  passing  over  a  long  mountain  pass,  I  roll  out 
of  my  kago,  to  relieve  the  bearers  and  enjoy  the  exercise.  I  walk  far 
ahead  of  my  party.  As  I  turn  a  rocky  angle,  I  see  him  far  ahead, 
leading  his  horse  down  a  slippery  path.  A  shout  is  answered  by  a 
halloo.  In  a  moment  more  two  old  college  chums,  fellow-travelers  in 
Europe,  and  co-workers  in  Japan,  are  in  each  other's  arms.  Our  par- 
ties soon  meet,  and  Shimojo,  Clark's  interpreter,  exchanges  his  horse 
for  my  kago.  Two  "  to-jins,"  instead  of  one,  astonish  the  natives  as 
we  gallop  over  the  Tokaido  into  Shidzuoka,*  the  exile  city  of  the 
Tokugawa.  (Poor  Shimojo,  "  one  of  the  sweetest  and  gentlest  spirits 
that  ever  quitted  or  tenanted  a  human  form,"  now  sleeps  in  one  of  the 
grave-yards  in  Tokio.)  Old  memories  and  new  experiences  make  busy 
tongues.  Our  chat  is  prolonged  far  into  the  night.  My  sleep  is  un- 
troubled with  dreams  or  earthquakes. 

January  3lst. — To-day  is  for  sight-seeing.  I  visit  lyeyasu's  old 
castle,  the  school,  the  temples.  I  see  the  presents  brought  by  Com- 
modore Perry.  Here  is  a  sewing-machine  with  tarnished  plates  and 
rusty  shuttles.  There  are  maps,  one  of  my  native  Pennsylvania  and 
of  Philadelphia,  as  they  were  in  1851.  Here  is  a  spectroscope,  given 
before  Bunsen  and  Kirchoff  added  to  the  alphabet  of  elements  or  an- 
alyzed the  sun.  There  is  also  a  miscellaneous  array  of  English  and 
other  presents,  including  a  gilt  model  of  Victoria's  crown.  It  awakes 
a  curious  medley  of  feelings  to  see  this  "  old  curiosity  shop  "  in  this 
"  St.  Helena  of  Tokugawaism." 

"  Oh,  what  si  tangled  web  we  weave, 
When  first  we  practice  to  deceive." 

The  labels  seem  the  gibes  of  fate.  I  meet  many  once  prominent  re- 
tainers of  Tokugawa,  men  who  have  led  fleets  and  armies,  or  headed 

*  Formerly  called  Sumpu,  from  sun  in  Sunshiu,  the  Chinese  form  of  Suruga, 
and/M,  capital.  Sun-fu  becomes  by  euphony  Sumpu,  the  capital  of  Suruga.  On, 
«ld  maps  it  is  marked  as  Fuchiu. 


548  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

embassies.  Others  live  in  poverty  and  obscurity.  Some  bear  sabre* 
scars  and  bullet-marks  as  proof  of  their  loyalty.  Clark  is  extremely 
fortunate  in  having  so  many  cultivated  gentlemen,  famous  characters, 
and  educated,  intelligent  helpers.  The  school  was  founded  by  Fuku- 
zawa.  Nakamura  Masanawo,  professor  of  Chinese,  and  also  educated 
in  London,  his  right-hand  man,  is  printing  his  translation  of  "  Mill  on 
Liberty."  He  has  shown  me  some  of  the  cut  wooden  blocks ;  for  the 
author  is  very  often  his  own  publisher  in  Japan.  In  his  memorial  on 
Christianity,  some  months  ago,  in  which  he  urged  toleration,  he  argued 
that  without  the  religion  of  Christ  the  Japanese  are  plucking  only  the 
showy  leaves,  while  they  neglect  the  root  of  the  civilization  of  Chris- 
tendom. 

My  host  spreads  a  gorgeous  American  dinner  in  honor  of  his  guest. 
Hattori,  the  governor  of  the  ken,  Nakamura,  Yatabori,  the  school-offi- 
cer, two  Tokugawa  ex-magnates,  and  two  interpreters  are  present,  the 
party  numbering  twelve  in  all.  Mr.  Katsii  is  unfortunately  absent  in 
Tokid,  and  Mr.  Okubo  Ichio  unwell.  The  latter  sends  me  a  fan  in- 
scribed with  his  congratulations,  poetically  expressed.  A  great  many 
gifts,  rather  compliments,  are  showered  upon  me  by  officials  and  citi- 
zens, who  seem  endlessly  grateful  for  securing  them  so  good  a  teacher. 
Unable  to  carry  away  the  load  of  sponge-cake,  confectionery,  fowls, 
eggs,  etc.,  I  leave  them  to  Sam  Patch,*  the  veritable  Sam,  whom  Com- 
modore Perry  brought  back  as  a  waif  to  Japan  in  1853.  He  is  now 
officiating  as  cook  to  Mr.  Clark.  Sammy's  notoriety  has  somewhat 
spoiled  his  pristine  modesty,  and  his  head,  having  never  been  ballasted 
with  over  two-thirds  the  average  quantum  of  wit,  is  occasionally  turned, 
to  the  annoyance  of  his  master. 

February  1st. — From  Shidzuoka  the  journey  is  rapid,  jin-riki-shas 
being  numerous.  Mishima  and  the  castled  town  of  Numadzu  are 
passed.  The  Hakone  Mountains  are  ascended  and  enjoyed.  The 
path  is  one  long  aisle  under  mossy  monarch  pines,  through  superb 
scenery.  At  dark,  Sahei  lights  the  tai-matsu  (great  torch),  and  the 
village  people  kindle  fire-brands  in  the  streets  to  guide  the  travelers^ 

*  His  real  name  was  Sentaro.  He  was  a  native  of  lyo.  On  a  return  voyage 
from  Yedo  to  Ozaka,  the  junk  lost  its  rudder  and  mast,  drifted  fifty  days  at  sea, 
and  was  picked  up  by  the  American  brig  Auckland.  The  crew  consisted  of  sev- 
enteen men;  among  them  were  Heko  and  Denkichi  (see  Dankirche,  Alcock's 
"Three  Years  in  Japan;"  see,  also,  ."Perry  Expedition").  What  is  mortal  of 
Sammy  now  rests  in  a  temple  cemetery  at  Oji,  near  Tokio.  He  fell  a  victim  to 
that  scourge  called  kakke",  in  1874.  A  plain  stone  cross,  with  the  words  "Sam 
Patch,"  marks  his  tomb. 


A   TRAMP  THROUGH  JAPAN.  549 

a  most  hospitable  custom.  In  these  Swiss-like  highlands  I  stop  to 
buy  specimens  of  the  carved  and  mosaic  wood-work  of  exquisite  neat- 
ness and  delicate  finish.  We  sleep  in  castled  Odawara. 

February  2d. — Arrive  in  Yokohama  at  2.30  P.M.  My  year's  resi- 
dence has  given  me  the  ken  of  a  native.  My  eyes  have  not  altered  their 
angle,  yet  I  see  as  the  Japanese  see.  The  "  hairy  "  foreigners  are  ugly. 
Those  proud  fellows,  with  red  beards  and  hair,  look  hideous.  What 
outrageous  colors,  so  different  from  uniform  black !  How  ugly  those 
blue  eyes !  How  deathly  pale  many  of  them  look  !  How  proud,  how 
overbearing  and  swaggering,  many  of  them  appear,  acting  as  if  Japan 
were  their  own  !  The  white  people  are  as  curious,  as  strange,  as  odd 
ss  the  Japanese  themselves. 

Yokohama  has  greatly  increased  in  size  since  I  last  saw  it.  I  spend 
the  night  in  a  Christian  home.  After  supper,  at  which  sit  father, 
mother,  and  children,  some  of  the  old  sweet  music,  played  for  me  on 
the  piano,  recalls  all  the  dear  memories  of  home  and  the  home-land. 
The  evening  is  closed  with  worship,  in  which  the  burden  of  prayer  is 
for  the  rulers  and  people  of  Japan.  A  sense  of  gratitude  in  place  of 
loneliness  is  uppermost  in  my  mind  as  I  lie  down  to  rest.  I  have  es 
caped  many  dangers  since  I  first  left  home,  more  than  a  year  ago.  A 
summary  of  these,  as  they  flit  across  my  drowsy  consciousness,  com- 
prises great  variety.  No  steamer  on  the  Pacific  or  Lake  Biwa  has 
burned  (as  the  America  afterward),  foundered,  wrecked,  broken  ma- 
chinery, or  blown  up  (as  one  afterward  did  on  Lake  Biwa),  with  mo 
on  board.  No  stray  gun-shot  from  bird-shooters  in  the  rice-fields  o{ 
Echizen  has  hit  me.  No  ronin's  sword  has  slit  my  back,  or  cloven 
my  head,  as  I  was  told  it  would.  No  red -capped,  small -pox  baby 
has  accidentally  rubbed  its  pustules  or  shed  its  floating  scales  on  me. 
A  horse  has  kicked,  but  not  killed  me.  No  fever  has  burned  my 
veins,  or  ague,  like  an  earthquake,  shaken  me  back  to  dust  again.  No 
.kago  has  capsized  over  a  precipice,  or  come  to  pieces  while  crossing  a 
log-bridge  over  a  torrent.  No  seismic  throes  have  ingulfed  me,  or 
squashed  my  house  upon  me,  nor  flood  overwhelmed  me,  nor  typhoon 
whirled  or  banged  me  to  pieces,  nor  fires  burned  me.  No  kappa  or 
any  other  mythic  reptile  has  grabbed  me.  No  jin-riki-sha  has  smashed 
me.  I  have  not  been  poisoned  to  death  by  fresh  lacquer.  My  still 
sufficiently  sensitive  nose  has  not,  for  agricultural  necessities,  been  par- 
alyzed by  intolerable  odors  or  unmentionable  buckets.  No  charcoal 
fumes  have  asphyxiated  me  (alas !  my  poor,  gentle  friend  Bates  !).  I 
have  not  been  seethed  to  death  in  hot  water  by  jumping  unwittingly 


550  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

into  the  boiling  baths  so  often  prepared  for  me.  My  temper,  though 
badly  damaged,  has  not,  I  hope,  been  utterly  spoiled  by  Asiaticisms. 
No  centipedes  or  scorpions  have  bitten  me  within  a  thread's-width 
of  my  life ;  neither  have  the  fleas  in  mountain  inns,  though  they  have 
taken  more  than  Shylock's  portion,  utterly  devoured  me.  No  drunk- 
en soldier  has  quarreled  with  me,  nor  skewered  me  with  his  sabre. 
Neither  did  I  use  chemicals  till  I  had  proved  them,  testing  before 
tasting.  No  carbonate  of  soda  has  entered  my  mouth  till  I  happily 
showed  the  label  a  libel  by  a  drop  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  water, 
and  found  it  to  be  arsenide  of  sodium  (Na3As.).  I  have  proved  many, 
and  discovered  a  few,  things.  The  best  trovers  of  all  are  the  human 
hearts  and  kindly  nature  of  the  Japanese.  God  bless  the  people  of 
Japan ! 

February  2d. — At  P  30  I  take  the  steamer  to  Tokio.  A  white  and 
driveling  drunkard,  his  native  mistress,  and  a  Briton  indulging  in  bran- 
dy and  tobacco,  occupy  the  cabin.  I  go  on  deck.  Landing  at  Tsu- 
kiji,  I  finish  my  winter  journey  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  At 
the  French  hotel,  a  good  square  meal  seems  such  a  triumph  of  civili- 
zation that  I  wonder  how  any  one  could  ever  commit  hara-kiri. 
Tokio  is  so  modernized  that  I  scarcely  recognize  it.  No  beggars,  no 
guard-houses,  no  sentinels  at  Tsukiji,  or  the  castle-gates;  city  ward- 
barriers  gone ;  no  swords  worn ;  hundreds  of  yashikis  disappeared ; 
new  decencies  and  proprieties  observed ;  less  cuticle  visible ;  more 
clothes.  The  age  of  pantaloons  has  come.  Thousands  wearing  hat, 
boots,  coats  ;  carnages  numerous ;  jin-riki-shas  countless.  Shops  full 
of  foreign  wares  and  notions.  Soldiers  all  uniformed,  armed  with 
Chassepot  rifles.  New  bridges  span  the  canals.  Police  in  uniform. 
Hospitals,  schools,  and  colleges  ;  girls'  seminaries  numerous.  Railway 
nearly  finished.  Embassy  rode  in  steam-cars  to  Yokohama.  Gold 
and  silver  coin  in  circulation.  Almshouses  established.  A  corps  of 
medical  German  professors  occupy  the  old  monasteries  of  Uyeno. 
General  Capron  and  his  staff  of  scientific  American  gentlemen  are 
housed  in  the  shogun's  Hall  of  Rest  at  Shiba.  A  commission  of 
French  military  officers  live  in  the  yashiki  of  li  Kamon  no  kami, 
whose  son  is  studying  in  Brooklyn.  Three  hundred  foreigners  reside 
in  Tokio.  An  air  of  bustle,  activity,  and  energy  prevails.  The  camp 
of  the  chief  daimio  of  a  hermit  nation  is  no  more.  Old  Yedo  has 
passed  away  forever.  Tokio,  the  national  capital,  is  a  cosmopolis. 

Now  begins  a  three  years'  residence  in  the  great  city. 


THE  POSITION  OF  WOMAN.  551 


XVII. 

THE  POSITION  OF  WOMAN. 

No  one  who  is  interested  in  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  Asiatic 
nations  can  approach  the  question  of  female  education  without  feel- 
ings of^sadness  as  profound  as  the  need  of  effort  is  felt  to  be  great. 
The  American  who  leaves  his  own  country,  in  which  the  high  honor 
paid  to  woman  is  one  of  the  chief  glories  of  the  race  to  which  he  be- 
longs, is  shocked  and  deeply  grieved  at  beholding  her  low  estate  in 
pagan  lands.  He  is  scarcely  surprised  at  the  wide  difference  between 
the  Eastern  and  the  Western  man ;  for  this  he  has  expected.  He  can 
not,  however,  explain  the  low  condition  of  woman  by  the  correspond- 
ing state  of  civilization.  He  sees  that  the  one  is  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  the  other.  An  inferior  grade  of  civilization  does  not  necessi- 
tate the  extreme  subjection  of  woman.  If  Tacitus  records  rightly, 
the  ancient  barbarians,  whose  descendants  arc  the  Germanic  races,  sur- 
passed even  the  civilized  Romans  in  the  respect  paid  to  their  women. 
The  Western  man  in  Asia  sees  that  abject  obedience  as  daughter, 
wife,  and  widowed  mother  is  the  lot  of  woman,  as  ordained  by  the 
wisdom  of  the  ancients  and  fixed  by  the  custom  of  ages.  He  sees 
the  might  of  physical  force,  and  the  power  of  government  and  socie- 
ty, in  league  to  keep  her  crushed  as  near  to  the  level  of  the  unreply- 
ing  brute  as  possible.  He  finds  that  the  religious  systems  agree  in 
denying  her  a  soul ;  the  popular  superstitions  choose  her  as  the  scape- 
goat for  all  tempted  and  sinning  men ;  and  that  spirit  of  monastic  as- 
ceticism whose  home  is  in  the  East  selects  her  as  the  symbol  of  all 
that  is  opposed  to  the  peace  and  purity  of  the  aspiring  saint. 

The  student  of  Asiatic  life,  on  coming  to  Japan,  however,  is  cheered 
and  pleased  on  contrasting  the  position  of  women  in  Japan  with  that 
in  other  countries.  He  sees  them  treated  with  respect  and  considera- 
tion far  above  that  observed  in  other  quarters  of  the  Orient.  They 
are  allowed  greater  freedom,  and  hence  have  more  dignity  and  self- 
confidence.  The  daughters  are  better  educated,  and  the  national  an- 
nals will  show  probably  as  large  a  number  of  illustrious  women  as 


552  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

those  of  any  other  country  in  Asia.  In  the  time  of  their  opportunity 
— these  last  days  of  enlightenment — public  and  private  schools  for 
girls  are  being  opened  and  attended.  Furthermore,  some  of  the  lead- 
ers of  New  Japan,  braving  public  scandal,  and  emancipating  them- 
selves from  the  bondage  of  an  etiquette  empty  of  morals,  are  learning 
to  bestow  that  measure  of  honor  upon  their  wives  which  they  see  is 
enthusiastically  awarded  by  foreigners  to  theirs,  and  are  not  ashamed 
to  be  seen  in  public  with  their  companions.  A  few  have  married 
wives  on  the  basis  of  a  civil  contract,  endowing  them  with  an  equal 
share  and  redress  before  the  law.  Still  better,  Christian  Japanese  lead 
their  brides  to  Christian  altars,  to  have  the  sanctions  of  religion, 
though  not  the  despotism  of  a  hierarchy,  to  cement  their  marital 
union.  In  Christian  churches,  Japanese  father,  mother,  and  children 
sit  together — a  strange  sight  in  Asia.  The  mikado's  Government  has 
made  direct  efforts  to  improve  the  condition  of  his  female  subjects. 
The  eta  women,  with  the  men,  have  been  lifted  to  the  level  of  citizen- 
ship. The  marriage  laws  have  been  so  reformed  as  to  allow  the  dif- 
ferent classes  of  society  to  intermarry. 

The  abolition  of  beggary,  though  a  general  public  benefit,  deserves 
to  be  spoken  of  in  this  place.  The  introduction  of  improved  silk-reel- 
ing machinery  and  the  increasing  area  of  tea-producing  territory,  by 
widening  the  field  of  female  employments,  have  tended  to  swell  the 
number  of  virtuous  women,  and  diminish  the  ranks  of  the  courtesans. 
Above  all,  the  grand  scheme  of  educating  the  girls  as  well  as  the  boys 
throughout  the  country,  and  the  establishment  of  schools  of  a  high 
grade  for  young  women,  are  triumphant  evidences  of  a  real  desire  to 
elevate  the  position  of  women  in  Japan,  and  to  develop  the  capabili- 
ties of  the  sex. 

But  what  has  thus  far  been  done  can  not  be  looked  upon  as  any 
thing  more  than  mere  indications  of  the  better  time  to  come  —  the 
gray  light  before  the  far-off  full  day.  As  yet,  the  country  at  large 
has  felt  only  the  faint  pulses  of  the  new  ideas.  The  bondage  of  en- 
slaving theological  tenets  is  to  be  cast  off,  popular  superstitions  are  to 
be  swept  away,  and  the  despotism  of  the  Chinese  classics  —  if  Japan 
wishes  to  rise  higher  in  the  scale  of  civilization  than  China — is  to  be 
relaxed,  before  the  Japanese  woman  becomes  that  factor  of  invincible 
potency  in  the  progress  and  regeneration  of  Japan  which  it  is  possi- 
ble for  her  to  be. 

That  the  progress  of  the  nation  depends  as  much  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  woman  as  upon  that  of  man,  is  a  principle  not  yet  current  in 


THE  POSITION  OF  WOMAN.  553 

Asia.  The  idea  that  still  remains  as  a  lingering  superstition,  and  the 
grossest  relic  of  barbarism  among  Western  nations,  that  might  makes 
right,  makes  religion,  makes  every  thing,  is  the  corner  and  cap  stone 
of  Asiatic  civilization.  The  gentle  doctrines  of  the  Indian  sage  have 
mollified  the  idea  somewhat ;  but  in  China  and  Japan,  the  hand  that 
holds  the  sword  is  the  sole  arbiter  of  the  destinies  of  woman.  The 
greatest  dread  which  the  extreme  conservatives  of  the  Yamato  dama- 
shi  feel  is  that  Western  notions  of  the  equality  of  man  and  woman 
should  prevail.  Such  ideas,  they  imagine,  will  subvert  all  domestic 
peace,  and  will  be  the  ruin  of  society  and  the  nation.  For  the  state 
of  things  to  be  "  as  if  a  hen  were  to  crow  in  the  morning,"  seems  that 
point  in  the  sea  of  troubles  beyond  which  the  imagination  of  man  (in 
Japan)  utterly  fails  to  go. 

The  whole  question  of  the  position  of  Japanese  women — in  history, 
social  life,  education,  employments,  authorship,  art,  marriage,  concu- 
binage, prostitution,  religion,  benevolent  labor,  the  ideals  of  literature, 
popular  superstitions,  etc. — discloses  such  a  "wide  and  fascinating  field 
of  inquiry,  that  I  wonder  no  one  has  yet  entered  it.  I  resist  the 
temptation  to  more  than  glance  at  these  questions,  and  shall  content 
myself  with  a  mere  sketch  of  the  position  and  education  of  woman  in 
Japan.  The  roots  of  this  subject  are  not  reached  by  a  peep  into  a 
public  bath-house.  We  must  consult  history,  literature,  art,  and  ideals. 
Our  ideas  and  prejudices  must  not  be  the  standard.  Japanese  see, 
with  true  vision,  much  to  condemn  among  us  that  passes  for  purity 
and  religion.  Let  us  judge  them  fairly. 

Of  one  hundred  and  twenty -three  Japanese  sovereigns,  nine  have 
been  women.  The  custodian  of  the  divine  regalia  is  a  virgin  priest- 
ess. The  chief  deity  in  their  mythology  is  a  woman.  Japanese  wom- 
en, by  their  wit  and  genius,  made  their  native  tongue  a  literary  lan- 
guage. In  literature,  art,  poetry,  song,  the  names  of  women  are  among 
the  most  brilliant  of  those  on  the  long  roll  of  fame  and  honor  on 
whose  brows  the  Japanese,  at  least,  have  placed  the  fadeless  chaplet  of 
renown.  Their  memory  is  still  kept  green  by  recitation,  quotation, 
reading,  and  inscription  on  screen,  roll,  memorial-stone,  wall,  fan,  cup, 
and  those  exquisite  works  of  art  that  delight  even  alien  admirers  east 
and  west  of  the  Pacific. 

In  the  records  of  the  Japanese  glory,  valor,  fortitude  in  affliction, 
greatness  in  the  hour  of  death,  filial  devotion,  wifely  affection,  in  all 
the  straits  of  life  when  codes  of  honor,  morals,  and  religion  are  tested 
in  the  person  of  their  professors,  the  literature  of  history  and  romance, 


554  THE  MIKADOES  EMPIRE. 

the  every -day  routine  of  fact,  teem  with  instances  of  the  Japanese 
woman's  power  and  willingness  to  share  whatever  of  pain  or  sorrow  is 
appointed  to  man.  In  the  annals  of  persecution,  in  the  red  roll  of 
martyrs,  no  names  are  brighter,  no  faces  gleam  more  peacefully  amidst 
the  flames,  or  on  the  cross  of  transfixing  spears,  or  on  the  pyre  of  rice- 
straw,  or  on  the  precipice  edge,  or  in  the  open  grave  about  to  be  filled 
up,  than  the  faces  of  the  Christian  Japanese  women  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  Such  is  the  position  of  woman  in  Japan  in  the  past. 

So  far  of  herself.  The  foreign  reader  must  remember  that  I  have 
not  formed  these  opinions  by  a  hasty  glimpse  of  life  at  the  sea-ports 
of  Japan,  where  the  scum  of  the  world  meets  the  dregs  of  that  coun- 
try, but  after  several  years  of  residence  in  an  interior  city  and  in  the 
capital.  Further,  I  am  placing  the  average  woman  in  Japan  against 
the  average  woman  in  other  lands.  I  am  stating  the  position  of 
woman  in  her  relation  to  man  and  society  in  Shin  Koku.  In  com- 
paring all  other  Asiatic  nations,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  Japan, 
in  respect  and  honor  to  women,  is  the  leader  of  them  all. 

The  foreign  resident  of  India,  Burmah,  or  China,  coming  to  Japan, 
is  surprised  and  pleased  to  find  the  Japanese  accord  to  their  women 
so  large  a  measure  of  respect  and  considerate  care.  No  woman's  feet 
are  ever  bound,  and  among  the  middle  and  lower  classes  she  is  almost 
as  much  at  liberty  to  walk  and  visit  as  in  our  own  land.  An  amount 
of  social  freedom  prevails  among  womankind  in  Japan  that  could 
hardly  be  expected  in  a  country  at  once  Asiatic,  idolatrous,  and  des- 
potic. No  foreign  reader  can  accuse  me  of  undue  eulogy  of  the  Jap- 
anese after  including  them  within  the  pale  inclosed  by  the  three  ad- 
jectives just  penned,  "Asiatic,  idolatrous,  and  despotic  " — the  educated, 
the  enlightened,  the  rising  men  of  Japan  loathe  the  words.  The  writ- 
er who  applies  these  stinging  epithets  to  them  will  receive  any  thing 
but  thanks.  They  do  not  like  to  be  called  Asiatics ;  they  despise  idol- 
atry (Buddhism)  ;  and  they  are  even  now  emerging  from  despotism  to 
constitutional  monarchy  and  representative  government.  Nevertheless 
I  have  written  it,  and  it  explains  woman's  position  and  character  in 
Japan,  and  brings  us  to  the  standing-point  where  we  may  note  the 
shadows  in  the  picture. 

I  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  prevalent  belief  of  foreigners  that  licen- 
tiousness is  the  first  and  characteristic  trait  in  her  character,  nor  upon 
the  idea  that  ordinary  chastity  is  next  to  unknown  in  Japan,  for  I  do 
not  believe  that  such  is  the  case.  That  the  idea  of  spiritual  purity  as 
taught  by  Christ — of  the  sin  of  defilement  without  reference  to  any 


THE  POSITION  OF  WOMAN.  555 

thing  physical  or  external,  the  commission  of  sin  by  the  mere  thought 
of,  or  looking  upon,  lust — is  generally  unknown,  I  believe  fully.  That 
the  loftiest  teachings  of  Buddhism  or  Shinto  have  failed  utterly  to 
purify  them  of  this  phase  of  their  low  moral  status,  I  also  believe. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  stated  that  the  chief  patrons  of  human 
flosh  let  out  on  hire  in  Japan  are  from  Christendom. 

It  is  the  heathen  religion  itself  that  we  are  to  arraign  for  the  low 
state  of  woman  in  Japan  as  compared  with  that  in  Christian  lands. 
The  only  religion  in  Japan  worthy  of  a  name,  in  the  sense  of  a  bind- 
ing system  of  dogmatics,  or  a  purifying  and  elevating  moral  power,  is 
Buddhism.  Yet  even  in  this  there  is  no  hope  of  immortality  for  a 
woman  unless  she  is  reborn  as  a  man,  which  means  that  there  is  no 
salvation  for  a  woman.  In  the  eye  of  Buddhist  dogma,  ecclesiastical 
law,  and  monkish  asceticism,  woman  is  but  a  temptation,  a  snare,  an 
unclean  thing,  a  scape-goat,  an  obstacle  to  peace  and  holiness.  Shin- 
to, a  religion  so  called,  seems  to  accord  her  a  higher  place;  but  Shinto 
can  never  sway  the  heart  and  mind  of  modern  Japanese  people. 

A  great  principle  and  an  Asiatic  institution  are  the  causes  of  the 
degradation  of  the  Japanese  women.  The  one  is  filial  obedience,  the 
other  polygamy.  The  idea  that  filial  obedience  should  be  the  cause 
of  woman's  degradation  may  strike  the  American  reader  as  passing 
strange.  In  this  land  of  irreverent  children  the  assertion  may  be 
doubted,  yet  it  is  true.  The  exaggeration  of  this  principle  in  China 
has  kept  that  great  nation  stagnant  for  tens  of  centuries,  and  to-day 
blocks  the  advance  of  Christianity  and  of  civilization.  Duty  to  par- 
ents overshadows  all  other  duties. 

The  Japanese  maiden,  as  pure  as  the  purest  Christian  virgin,  will  at 
the  command  of  her  father  enter  the  brothel  to-morrow,  and  prostitute 
herself  for  life.  Not  a  murmur  escapes  her  lips  as  she  thus  filially 
obeys.  To  a  life  she  loathes,  and  to  disease,  premature  old  age,  and  an 
early  grave,  she  goes  joyfully.  The  staple  of  a  thousand  novels,  plays, 
and  pictures  in  Japan  is  written  in  the  life  of  a  girl  of  gentle  manners 
and  tender  heart,  who  hates  her  life  and  would  gladly  destroy  it,  but 
refrains  because  her  purchase -money  has  enabled  her  father  to  pay 
his  debts,  and  she  is  bound  not  to  injure  herself.  In  the  stews  of  the 
great  cities  of  Japan  are  to-day,  I  doubt  not,  hundreds  of  girls  who 
loathe  their  existence,  but  must  live  on  in  gilded  misery  because  they 
are  fulfilling  all  righteousness  as  summed  up  in  filial  piety.* 

'*  More  than  one  European  writer  has  attempted  to  shed  a  poetical  halo  around 


556  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

So  long  as  the  institution  of  concubinage  exists  in  Japan,  home-life 
can  never  approach  in  purity  and  dignity  to  that  in  Christian  coun- 
tries. It  is  often  asked,  "Are  the  Japanese  polygamous  ?"  The  ques- 
tion has  two  answers.  A  Japanese  has  but  one  legal  wife,  but  he  may 
have  two  or  three  more  women  if  he  chooses,  or  can  support  them. 

the  Yoshiwara  system  of  Japan,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  well-meaning  people 
have  extensively  circulated  the  absurd  statements  that  the  Japanese  do  not  re- 
gard the  business  of  these  plaees  as  immoral ;  that  it  is  quite  common  for  Japa- 
nese gentlemen  to  make  wives  of  the  inmates  ;  that  they  exist  in  every  city;  and 
more  and  worse.  Not  a  few  foreigners  believe  that  "there  is  not  a  virtuous 
woman  in  Japan" — a  slander  that  well  befits  the  mouths  of  the  ignorant  bigots 
and  seared  libertines  who  alike  utter  it.  It  is  true  that  in  Japan  there  is  not  that 
sensitiveness  on  this  subject  that  exists  among  English-speaking  people,  and 
that  an  ambitious  young  man  in  the  lower  social  ranks,  who  aspires  10  wed  an 
intellectual  wife,  will  occasionally  marry  one  of  the  bright,  witty,  educated  girls 
who  may  have  fascinated  him  in  the  Yoshiwara.  This  is  rather  her  conquest  than 
his.  It  is  true  that  the  yearning  of  these  poor  prisoners  who  have  women's 
hearts  is  to  win  the  love  of  a  good  man,  to  be  a  virtuous  wife,  to  keep  house,  to 
be  the  joyful  mother  of  children,  and  enter  the  path  of  purity;  and  that  Japanese 
society  applauds  the  aspiration,  forgives  the  past,  and  welcomes  the  person. 
Many  a  book  of  poems  written  by  inmates  of  the  Yoshiwara  will  show  this,  even 
if  there  was  no  other  proof.  On  the  other  hand,  the  social  evil  in  Japan  is  shorn 
of  some  features  so  detestably  conspicuous  in  other  countries.  The  street-walk- 
er is  unknown.  The  place  set  apart  for  the  vile  business  is  rarely  inside  the  city, 
but  in  its  suburbs.  A  mnn  may  live  for  years  in  a  Japanese  city,  and  see  none  of 
the  moral  leprosy,  such  as  nightly  floods  Broadway,  the  Haymarket,  and  Boule- 
vard des  Italiens.  I  have  known  American  gentlemen,  thoroughly  at  home  in 
the  language,  who  in  years  of  intercourse  with  the  people  have  never  received  an 
improper  proposal.  It  is  also  true  that  the  Yoshiwara,  so  far  from  being  what 
some  European  writers  make  it,  is  only  another  name  for  misery,  degradation, 
and  vice,  in  which  suicide,  disease,  premature  old  age,  abandonment,  or  blight 
wastes  the  lives  of  thousands  of  victims.  The  real  opinion  of  Japanese  people  is 
expressed  by  their  proverbs:  "There  is  no  truth  in  a  courtesan;"  "When  you 
find  a  truthful  prostitute  and  a  four-cornered  egg,  the  moon  will  appear  before 
her  time."  There  are  tens  of  thousands  of  young  men  in  Japan  who  have  never 
entered  the  Yoshiwara.  The  common  word  among  the  students  for  what  per- 
tains to  them  is  dokiu  (poison).  The  unlicensed  are  called  jigoku  onna  (hell-wom- 
en). The  opinion  of  the  Government  of  these  places  is  shown  in  the  fact,  that 
after  a  defalcation,  murder,  or  gross  crime,  detectives  are  sent  first  to  them. 
The  Yoshiwara  is  a  fenced  plague  spot,  a  moral  quarantine,  found  only  in  the 
very  large  cities  and  sea-ports,  not  in  the  old  daimio's  capitals.  The  truth  is, 
that  the  Japanese  have  the  same  problems  of  social  evil  to  deal  with  as  other  na- 
tions. They  have  tried  to  solve  them  in  the  best  way  they  know.  It  must  be 
confessed  that,  in  some  respects,  they  have  succeeded  better  than  we  have.  The 
moral  status  of  the  Japanese  is  low  enough,  and  every  friend  of  Japan  knows  it; 
but  let  us  tell  the  truth,  even  about  the  heathen.  So  far  as  they  try  to  bridle 
crime,  or  solve  mighty  problems,  they  are  deserving  of  sympathy,  not  censure. 
How  far  the  placing  of  the  Yoshiwara  under  rigid  medical  inspection  will  improve 
or  degrade  the  moral  status  of  the  community,  is  yet  to  be  proved. 


THE  POSITION  OF  WOMAN.  557 

One  wife,  if  fruitful,  is  the  rule.  In  case  of  failure  of  an  heir,  the  hus- 
band is  fully  justified,  often  strongly  advised  even  by  his  wife,  to  take 
a  handmaid  to  raise  up  seed  to  preserve  the  ancestral  line.  To  judge 
of  the  prevalence  of  concubinage  in  Japan,  we  must  not  select  either 
Tokio  or  the  sea-ports.  The  one  is  the  capital,  as  full  of  political  and 
social  corruption  as  our  own ;  the  others  are  abnormally  luxurious 
places.  After  careful  examination  of  the  facts,  I  believe  the  actual 
proportion  of  men  who  have  concubines  in  addition  to  their  true  wives 
is  not  over  five  per  cent,  of  the  whole  population.  Of  those  financial- 
ly able  to  maintain  the  indulgence,  the  percentage  is  probably  twenty. 
The  husband  holds  the  power  of  the  sword.  The  divorced  wife  has 
little  or  no  redress.  Yet  the  facility  of  divorce  is  not  availed  of  as 
much  as  if  there  were  no  father-in-law,  brothers,  male  friends,  or  fe- 
male neighbor's  tongues  in  the  question.  Seven  causes  for  justifiable 
divorce  are  laid  down  in  the  classics  of  Confucius,  which  are  the  basis 
of  legal  morals  in  Japan  as  in  China,  or  as  those  of  Justinian  are  with 
us.  The  wife  may  be  divorced — 

1.  If  she  be  disobedient  to  her  parents-in-law.     (After  marriage,  in 
her  husband's  home,  his  parents  become  hers  in  a  far  more  significant 
sense  than  among  us.) 

2.  If  she  be  barren.     (If  the  husband  loves  his  childless  wife,  he 
keeps  and  supports  her.) 

3.  If  she  be  lewd  or  licentious.     (She  must  not  be  given  to  loose 
talk  or  wine.     It  is  not  proper  for  her  even  to  write  a  letter  to  any 
other  man.) 

4.  If  she  be  jealous  (of  other  women's  clothes,  or  children,  or  espe- 
cially of  her  husband). 

5.  If  she  have  a  loathsome  or  contagious  disease.     (If  dearly  be- 
loved, she  may  be  kept  in  a  separate  room  and  cared  for.) 

6.  If  she  steal. 

7.  If  she  talk  too  much. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  seventh  and  last  reason  is  the  one  fre> 
quently  availed  of,  or  pretended.  The  Japanese  think  it  is  a  good  rule 
that  works  but  one  way.  The  husband  is  not  divorced  from  the  wife 
for  these  equal  reasons.  Of  course,  woman  in  Japan,  by  her  tact, 
tongue,  graces,  and  charms,  is  able  to  rule  her  husband  generally  by 
means  invisible  to  the  outer  world,  but  none  the  less  potent.  Though 
man  holds  the  sword,  the  pen,  and  divorce,  and  glories  in  his  power, 
yet  woman,  by  her  finer  strength,  in  hut  as  in  palace  hall,  rules  her  lord. 

In  the  Japanese  home,  in  which  there  is  more  that  is  good  and  mor- 


558  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

ally  wholesome  than  most  foreigners  who  live  only  in  the  open  ports 
are  willing  to  acknowledge,  may  be  found  the  place,  by  excellence,  of 
the  training  of  the  female  children.  The  rudimentary  literary  train- 
ing of  girls  in  the  higher  classes  was  exclusively  there,  at  the  hands  of 
private  tutors  or  governesses.  The  female  children  of  the  lower  classes 
received  tuition  in  the  private  schools  so  generally  established  through- 
out the  country  during  the  last  two  centuries.  After  the  elementary 
training  came  the  study  of  those  books  for  the  special  use  of  the  Jap- 
anese women,  which  are  to  be  found  in  every  Japanese  household  pre- 
tending to  respectability.  These  books  collectively  are  called  Onna 
Yushoku  Mibae  Bunko.  They  constitute  a  library  of  works  on  the 
duties  of  women,  but  are  often  bound  up  in  one  volume.  If  the  read- 
er will  imagine  a  volume  composed  of  the  Bible,  "  Ladies'  Letter-writ- 
er," "  Guide  to  Etiquette,"  "  The  Young  Ladies'  Own  Book,"  Hannah 
More's  works,  Miss  Strickland's  "  Queens  of  England,"  a  work  on 
household  economy,  and  an  almanac,  he  will  obtain  some  idea  of  the 
contents  of  the  Bunko,  or  "  Japanese  Lady's  Library."  With  text  and 
illustrations,  the  volume  is  very  large ;  but  if  translated  and  printed  in 
brevier  with  the  cuts,  it  would  not  probably  occupy  more  space  than 
one  of  our  largest  monthly  magazines.  The  books  composing  it,  in 
their  order  of  importance,  are  the  Onna  Dai  Gaku  ("  Women's  Great 
Learning  " — the  moral  duties  of  woman,  founded  on  the  Chinese  clas- 
sics) ;  Onna  Sho  Gaku  ("  Woman's  Small  Learning  " — introduction 
to  the  above)  ;  Onna  Niwa  no  Oshiye  ("  Woman's  Household  In- 
struction " — duties  relating  to  furniture,  dress,  reception  of  guests,  and 
all  the  minutiae  of  indoor  life,  both  daily  and  ceremonial) ;  Onna  Ima- 
gawa  ("  Moral  Lessons "  in  paragraphs) ;  Onna  Ydbunsho  ("  Lady's 
Letter-writer") ;  Nijiu-shi  Ko  ("  Twenty-four  Children  " — stories  about 
model  children  in  China).  Besides  these  works  of  importance,  there  are 
Hiyaku  Nin  Isshiu — a  collection  of  one  hundred  poems  from  as  many 
poets,  written  in  the  old  Yamato  dialect,  and  learned  in  every  house- 
hold, and  perpetually  repeated  with  passionate  fondness  by  old  and 
young ;  a  collection  of  lives  of  model  women  ;  household  lore ;  alma- 
nac learning ;  rules  and  examples  to  secure  perfect  agreement  between 
man  and  wife ;  and  a  vast  and  detailed  array  of  other  knowledge  of 
various  sorts,  both  useful  and  ornamental  to  a  Japanese  maiden,  wife, 
widow,  or  mother.  This  book  is  studied,  not  only  by  the  higher 
classes,  but  by  the  daughters  in  almost  every  respectable  family 
throughout  the  country.  It  is  read  and  reread,  and  committed  to 
memory,  until  it  becomes  to  the  Japanese  woman  what  the  Bible  is  to 


THE  POSITION  OF  WOMAN.  559 

the  inmate  of  those  homes  in  the  West  in  which  the  Bible  is  the  first, 
and  last,  and  often  the  only -book. 

Only  a  small  proportion  of  Japanese  girls  attain  an  advanced  knowl- 
edge of  Chinese  characters,  though  many  of  the  samurai  daughters 
have  read  the  standard  Japanese  histories ;  and  in  the  best  native 
schools  at  present  a  certain  amount  of  the  reading  and  writing  of  Chi- 
nese characters  is  taught,  and  one  or  two  good  histories  of  Japan  are 
read.  In  the  national,  traditionary,  heroic,  and  historic  lore  of  theii 
own  country,  I  doubt  very  much  whether  the  children  of  any  country 
in  the  world  are  better  instructed  or  informed  than  the  Japanese  chil- 
dren. 

The  fruits  of  this  education,  as  modified  or  strengthened  by  social 
circumstances  and  religion,  are  seen  in  the  present  type  of  the  Japa- 
nese woman.  As  compared  with  her  sister  in  Western  lands,  and  as 
judged  by  her  own  standards,  she  is  fully  the  peer  in  that  exquisite 
taste  for  the  beautiful  and  becoming  as  displayed  in  dress  and  person- 
al adornment ;  nor  is  she  inferior  in  the  graces  of  etiquette  and  female 
proprieties. 

No  ladies  excel  the  Japanese  in  that  innate  love  of  beauty,  order, 
neatness,  household  adornment  and  management,  and  the  amenities  of 
dress  and  etiquette  as  prescribed  by  their  own  standard.  In  maternal 
affection,  tenderness,  anxiety,  patience,  and  long-suffering,  the  Japanese 
mothers  need  fear  no  comparison  with  those  who  know  the  sorrows 
and  rapture  of  maternity  in  other  climes.  As  educators  of  their  chil- 
dren, the  Japanese  women  are  peers  to  the  mothers  of  any  civilization 
in  the  care  and  minuteness  of  their  training  of,  and  affectionate  ten- 
derness and  self-sacrificing  devotion  to,  offspring,  within  the  limits  of 
their  light  and  knowledge.  Though  the  virago  and  the  shrew  are  not 
unknown  characters  in  this  Land  of  Great  Peace,  yet  the  three  funda- 
mental duties  of  woman,  which  include  all  others,  and  as  laid  down  in 
the  Chinese  classics,  are  almost  universally  fulfilled  without  murmurings 
or  hesitation.  These  duties  are,  first,  obedience  to  her  parents  (the 
father)  when  a  child ;  second,  obedience  to  her  husband  when  a  wife ; 
third  (at  least  formal),  obedience  to  her  eldest  son  when  a  widow.  In- 
deed, the  whole  sum  of  excellencies  and  defects  of  the  Japanese  female 
character  arise  from  one  all-including  virtue,  and  the  biography  of  a 
good  woman  is  written  in  one  word — obedience.  Japanese  biogra- 
phies, let  me  add,  contain  quite  as  much  truth  as  the  average  lives  of 
dead  people  written  in  English.  If  unvarying  obedience,  acquiescence, 
submission,  the  utter  absorption  of  her  personality  into  that  of  her 


560  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPTEE. 

husband,  constitute  the  ideal  of  the  perfect  woman,  then  the  Japanese 
married  women  approach  so  near  that  ideal  as  to  be  practically  per- 
fect, and  in  this  respect  are,  as  foreign  women  will  cheerfully  grant  to 
them,  unquestionably  superior. 

The  Japanese  maiden  is  bright,  intelligent,  interesting,  modest,  lady- 
like, self-reliant ;  neither  a  slave  nor  a  wanton.  What  the  American 
girl  is  in  Europe,  the  Japanese  maiden  is  among  Asiatics.  Both  are 
misunderstood.  A  Japanese  virgin  may  act  in  a  way  not  reconcilable 
with  our  standards.  She  may  expose  her  charms  so  as  to  shock  our 
exalted  and  chaste  masculinity.  Lighter-skinned  womankind  may  see 
moral  obliquity  in  an  eye  not  perfectly  horizontal,  when  there  is  none. 
The  Japanese  virgin  knows  nothing  of  the  white  lady's  calculated  lim- 
its of  exposure,  or  of  scientific  dress-making,  which  by  an  inch  of  af- 
fluent economy  exerts  a  more  wicked  influence  than  a  nude  bust  emp- 
ty of  intent  to  charm. 

The  importance  of  the  new  education  of  Japanese  girls  to  their 
country  can  not  be  overestimated.  The  revolution  through  which 
the  nation  is  passing  requires  completion.  The  new  reforms,  of  the 
necessity  of  which  the  leaders  of  Japan  are  convinced,  and  to  which 
they  are  pledged,  require  to  be  certified,  and  to  become  part  of  the 
home -life  of  the  people.  The  work  of  the  Government  must  be 
done  in  the  homes.  The  foundations  of  society  are  there ;  and  as 
the  home  is,  so  will  the  State  be  in  every  land.  All  governments, 
in  their  various  forms,  are  but  households  of  a  larger  growth. 
Given  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  average  household  in  any  land> 
and  the  real  government  is  easily  known  and  understood. 

Looking  at  the  question  of  female  education  even  from  the  vulgar 
concrete  standing -point  —  that  woman  is  merely  the  supplement  of 
man,  and  that  the  end  and  aim  and  Almighty  purpose  of  a  woman's 
creation  is  that  she  shall  become  some  man's  wife  —  the  question  is 
all-important.  The  rising  generation,  who  are  to  take  the  places  of 
the  present  leaders  of  Japan,  are  being  educated  in  Western  ideas,  and 
are  passing  through  a  developing  process  which  will  tend  to  exalt  the 
mental  powers  at  the  expense  of  the  animal  instincts.  The  decay  of 
the  old  feudal  frame-work  of  society,  and  the  suppression  of  govern- 
ment pensions  and  hereditary  revenues,  by  removing  all  actual  neces- 
sity for  marriage,  will  create  in  the  minds  of  the  increasing  numbers  of 
those  who  marry  from  the  higher  motives  a  desire  for  a  congenial  life- 
companion  and  helpmate,  and  not  for  a  mere  female  of  the  human 
species.  Though  some  of  the  present  generation  of  students  may 


THE  POSITION  OF  WOMAN.  .561 

marry  ordinary  native  women,  those  who  wish  for  happiness  in  their 
home-life,  who  aspire  to  rise  out  of  the  old  plane  of  existence  and 
dwell  permanently  on  the  higher  levels  of  intellectual  life,  will  seek 
for  educated  women  as  wives.  The  new  civilization  will  never  take 
root  in  Japan  until  planted  and  cultivated  in  the  homes,  and,  to  secure 
that  end,  the  thorough  education  of  woman  is  an  absolute  necessity. 

In  conclusion,  I  must  add  my  testimony  and  offer  my  plaudit  to  the 
earnest  diligence  and  rapid  progress  of  the  girls  in  the  national  schools, 
of  whose  efforts  and  successes  I  have  been  witness,  and  which  must  be 
extremely  gratifying  to  those  who  organized  or  who  are  interested  in 
them.  Of  the  signal  success,  far-reaching  influence,  and  exalted  teach- 
ings of  the  Christian  missionary  schools  for  girls,  I  can  not  speak  in 
too  high  terms.  In  this  good  work,  American  ladies  have  led  the 
way.  By  them  the  Japanese  maiden  is  taught  the  ideals,  associations, 
and  ordering  of  a  Christian  home,  a  purer  code  of  morals,  a  regenera- 
ting spiritual  power,  of  which  Buddhism  knows  nothing,  and  to  which 
the  highest  aspirations  of  Shinto  are  strangers.  Above  all,  an  ideal 
of  womanhood,  which  is  the  creation  and  gift  of  Christianity  alone, 
eclipsing  the  loftiest  conceptions  of  classic  paganism,  is  held  up  for 
imitation.  The  precept  and  example  of  Christian  women  in  these 
labors  are  mightily  working  the  renovation  of  the  social  fabric  in 
Japan. 

I  think  none  will  accuse  me  of  failure  to  see  the  best  side  of  the 
Japanese  character,  or  of  an  honest  endeavor  to  estimate  fairly  the 
force  and  capability  of  the  religions  of  Japan.  Fully  conscious  of  my 
liability  to  error  in  all  that  I  have  written  in  this  book,  I  yet  utter  my 
conviction  that  nothing  can  ever  renovate  the  individual  heart,  nothing 
purify  society,  and  give  pure  blood-growth  to  the  body  politic  in  Ja- 
pan, but  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  Only  the  spiritual  morality, 
and,  above  all,  the  chastity,  taught  by  Him  can  ever  give  the  Japanese 
a  home-life  equal  to  ours.  With  all  our  faults  and  sins,  and  with  all 
the  impurities  and  failures  of  our  society,  I  believe  our  family  and  so- 
cial life  to  be  immeasurably  higher  and  purer  than  that  of  Japan. 

The  religion  of  the  Home-maker,  and  the  Children -lover,  and  the 

~ 

Woman-exalter,  is  mighty  to  save  the  Japanese  mother,  and  must  be 
most  potent  to  purify  and  exalt  the  Japanese  home.  Of  all  the 
branches  of  missionary  labor  in  Japan,  none,  it  seems  to  me,  is  of  great- 
er importance,  or  more  hopeful  of  sure  results,  permanent  and  far-reach- 
ing in  its  influence,  than  the  work  of  Christian  women  for  women  in 
Japan. 


562  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


XVIII. 

NEW    JAPAN. 

THE  history  of  Japan  from  1872  to  1876  is  intimately  connected 
with  that  of  the  mikado.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1872,  he  visited 
the  imperial  navy,  dock -yards,  and  machine-shops  at  Yokosuka,  dis- 
playing the  liveliest  interest  in  all  he  saw.  By  his  conduct  through- 
out the  entire  day,  and  coolness  and  self-possession  during  a  critical 
moment,  when  a  damp  mold,  full  of  molten  iron,  exploded  and  be- 
spattered the  imperial  person,  he  proved  himself  more  than  a  petty 
pseudo- divinity.  He  showed  himself  a  man.  The  last  act  of  the 
mystery-play  was  over.  As  a  god,  the  mikado  is  a  failure ;  as  a  man, 
he  is  a  splendid  success.  If  he  has  any  divinity,  it  is  the  divinity  of 
common  sense.  From  dwelling  in  mediaeval  seclusion  in  the  palace, 
steeped  in  sensual  delights,  degraded  in  body  and  mind  to  the  intel- 
lectual level  of  a  girl,  the  sovereign  of  Japan  has  taken  his  place 
among  men  of  thought  and  action,  a  student,  a  thinker,  an  earnest 
and  enlightened  ruler.  In  April,  Mutsuhito  visited  the  Imperial  Col- 
lege ;  and,  being  in  his  presence  several  hours,  and  immediately  before 
him  during  the  performance  of  experiments  and  recitations  by  the 
students,  I  was  enabled  to  study  his  countenance  .as  he  sat  surround- 
ed by  princes  of  the  blood,  court  nobles,  and  ministers  of  the  cabinet, 
all  robed  in  variegated  brocade.  He  was  then  dressed  in  flowing 
robes  of  crimson  and  white  satin,  with  black  cap  or  crown,  bound 
by  a  fillet  of  fluted  gold,  with  a  tall,  upright  plume,  or  stiff  rib- 
bon of  gold.  He  appeared  as  the  picture  on  page  102  represents 
some  one  of  his  ancestors.  I  afterward  (January  1st,  1873)  had  the 
pleasure  of  an  audience  in  the  imperial  palace,  seeing  him  sitting  on 
a  chair,  or  throne,  richly  ornamented  with  golden  dragons  and  lions, 
flanked  by  his  sword-bearer  and  train  of  courtiers,  in  all  the  gorgeous- 
ness  and  variety  of  silk  robes  and  ceremonial  caps,  so  characteristic  of 
rank  in  Dai  Nippon.  At  the  opening  of  the  new  buildings*  of  the 

*  These  are  built  in  modern  style,  in  three  wings,  each  192  feet  long,  joined  to 


NEW  JAPAN.  563 

Imperial  College — thenceforth  called  the  Imperial  University  of  Ja- 
pan— I  saw  him  dressed  in  the  costume  shown  in  the  portrait  on  page 
37,  thoroughly  Europeanized  in  dress  and  person.  I  consider  the  like- 
ness in  photograph  and  wood-cut  to  be  a  capital  one. 

On  the  3d  of  April,  1872,  at  3  P.M.,  during  the  prevalence  of  a  high 
wind,  a  fire,  breaking  out  inside  the  castle  circuit,  leaped  wall  and  moat, 
and  in  five  hours  swept  Tokio  to  the  bay.  Five  thousand  houses  and 
hundreds  of  yashikis  and  temples — among  them  the  great  Monzeki, 
in  Tsukuji — were  destroyed.  The  foreign  hotels  were  left  in  ashes, 
which  covered  many  square  miles.  Out  of  this  calamity  rose  the 
phenix  of  a  new  plan  with  a  now  order  of  architecture.  The  main 
avenues  were  widened  to  ninety  feet,  the  smaller  ones  to  sixty  feet. 
Rows  of  fine  houses  in  brick  and  stone,  and  new  bridges,  in  many 
cases  of  stone  or  iron,  were  built.  Tokio  is  now  thoroughly  modern- 
ized in  large  portions.  The  foreign  residents  joined  in  the  work  of 
alleviating  the  distress.  As  bearer  of  their  silver  contributions  to  the 
mayor  of  the  city,  I  found  my  old  friend,  Mitsuoka  (Yuri),  of  Fukui, 
sitting  amidst  the  ashes  of  his  dwelling,  but  happy  in  the  possession 
of  an  imperial  order  to  visit  America  and  Europe,  to  study  municipal 
government  and  improvements. 

the  main  building,  324  feet  long.  They  contain  79  rooms.  The  students,  who 
wear  uniform  as  in  American  schools,  number  350,  taught  by  20  foreign  profess- 
ors. The  Foreign  -  language  School,  in  which  students  learn  the  English  or 
other  language  preparatory  to  entering  the  college,  is  on  Hitotsubashi  Avenue, 
opposite.  It  has  600  students  and  20  foreign  teachers.  Botli  are  well  equipped 
with  books  and  apparatus.  At  the  banquet  given  October  9th,  Higashi  Fushimi 
no  Miya,  prince  of  the  blood;  San  jo  Saneyoshi,  Dai  Jo  Dai  Jin;  Eto  Shimpei,  Oki, 
and  Itagaki,  Counselors  of  State ;  Saigo  Yorimichi,  Yoshida  Kiyonari,  and  many 
others,  were  present,  all  of  whom  I  met.  The  empire  is,  for  educational  purposes, 
divided  into  eight  districts,  in  each  of  which  is  to  be  a  university,  supplied  by  210 
schools  of  foreign  languages.  The  elementary  vernacular  schools  will  number 
53,000,  or  one  for  every  600  persons  in  the  empire.  They  are  supplied  by  native 
teachers  trained  in  normal  schools.  At  present,  nearly  3,000,000  youths  of  both 
sexes  are  in  school.  With  such  excellent  provision  at  home,  the  Government, 
having  found  out  their  expensive  mistake  of  sending  raw  students  abroad  to 
study,  and  the  political  objects  of  the  movement  having  been  secured,  recalled 
most  of  them  in  18?d — an  order  that  was  curiously  misunderstood  in  America  and 
Europe  to  mean  reaction.  This,  however,  is  a  mistake.  Trained  students  versed 
in  the  languages  and  science  have  taken  the  place  of  many  of  those  recalled.  While 
the  embassy  was  in  America,  David  Murray,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Mathemat- 
ics and  Astronomy  in  Rutgers  College,  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  Schools 
and  Colleges  in  Japan.  Dr.  Murray,  by  his  quiet  vigor,  unassuming  manners, 
thorough  competence,  ability,  and  industry,  has  done  much  to  improve  and  per- 
fect education  in  Japan.  He  was,  in  1875,  also  appointed  Commissioner  to  the 
Centennial  Exhibition. 


564 


THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 


During  the  summer,  Mr.  Katsu  Awa  was  made  Minister  of  the 
Navy,  and  Mr.  Okubo  Ichio,  Mayor  of  Tokio.     A  large  number  of  ex- 
Tokugawa  vassals  were  called  into  the  service 
of  the  Government,  and  the  old  lines  of  divis- 
ion obliterated.     The  head  of  the  Tokugawa 
family  appointed  by  the   mikado's  court  in 
1868,  is  Jiusammi   Tokugawa  Kamenosuke, 
whom  I  often  met  in  Tokio.     The  Tokugawa 
clansmen  are  now  among  the  loyal  upholders 
of  the  throne  and  the  new  order  of  things. 
Mr.  Katsu  devoted  himself  to  the  thorough  or- 
ganization of  the  navy  (see  page  597).     The 
British  model  had  already  been  selected.     In 
the  accompanying  cut  is  given  a  specimen  of 
the   national   fleet,  the   Tsukuba  Kan,  which 
Japanese  Naval  officer.      visited  San  Francisco  during  1875.     The  por- 
trait of  the  commander  shows  the  Japanese  naval  officer  of  the  period 
in  modern  tonsure  and  uniform.     The  sun-flag  of  Japan  floats  astern. 
In  the  latter  part  of  June,  1872,  the  mikado  left  Tokio  in  the  flag- 
ship of  Admiral  Akainatsu,  who  was  trained  in  Holland  with  Enomoto, 


The  Japanese  Steam  Corvette  Tsukuba  Kan. 


and  made  a  tour  in  Kiushiu  and  the  South  and  West  of  the  empire. 
For  the  first  time  in  twelve  centuries,  the  Emperor  of  Japan  moved 
freely  and  unveiled  among  his  subjects,  whose  loyalty  and  devotion 
were  manifested  in  the  intense  but  decorous  enthusiasm  characteristic 
of  a  people  to  whom  etiquette  is  second  nature.  In  several  ancient 
places  the  imperial  hands  opened,  in  anticipation  of  the  Vienna  Ex- 


NSW  JAPAN.  565 

position,  store-houses  which  had  been  sealed  since  the  time  of  Seiwa 
Tenno  (A.D.  859-876).  Vienna  was  already  engaging  the  attention  of 
the  Government.  The  mikado  visited  Nagasaki,  Kagoshima,  Nara, 
Kioto,  Ozaka,  and  other  places,  returning  to  Tokio,  August  16th,  rid- 
ing from  Yokohama  by  railway. 

The  14th  of  October  was  a  day  of  matchless  autumnal  beauty  and 
ineffable  influence.  The  sun  rose  cloudlessly  on  the  Sunrise  Land. 
Fuji  blushed  at  dawn  out  of  the  roseate  deeps  of  space,  and  on  stain- 
less blue  printed  its  white  magnificence  all  day  long,  and  in  the  mys- 
tic twilight  sunk  in  floods  of  golden  splendor,  resting  at  night  with  its 
head  among  the  stars.  On  that  auspicious  day,  the  mikado,  princes 
of  the  blood,  court  nobles,  the  "  flowery  nobility  "  of  ex-daimios,  and 
guests,  representing  the  literature,  science,  art,  and  arms  of  Japan,  in 
flowing,  picturesque  costume ;  the  foreign  Diplomatic  Corps,  in  tight 
cloth  smeared  with  gold ;  the  embassadors  of  Liu  Kiu,  the  Aino  chiefs, 
and  officials  in  modern  dress,  made  the  procession,  that,  underneath 
arches  of  camellias,  azaleas,  and  chrysanthemums,  moved  into  the  stone- 
built  dep6t,  and,  before  twenty  thousand  spectators,  stepped  into  the 
train.  It  was  a  sublime  moment,  when,  before  that  august  array  of 
rank  and  fame,  and  myriads  of  his  subjects,  the  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-third representative  of  the  imperial  line  declared  the  road  open. 
The  young  emperor  beheld  with  deep  emotion  the  presence  of  so  many 
human  beings.  As  the  train  moved,  the  weird  strains  of  the  national 
hymn  of  Japan,  first  heard  before  the  Roman  empire  fell  or  Charle- 
magne ruled,  were  played.  Empires  had  risen,  flourished,  and  passed 
away  since  those  sounds  were  first  attuned.  To-day  Japan,  fresh  and 
vigorous,  with  new  blood  in  her  heart,  was  taking  an  upward  step  in 
life.  May  the  Almighty  Disposer  grant  the  island  empire  strength, 
national  unity,  and  noble  purpose  while  the  world  stands ! 

These  were  my  thoughts  as  the  smoke  puffed  and  the  wheels  re- 
volved. Past  flower-decked  stations,  the  train  moved  on.  When  at 
Kanagawa,  puffs  of  smoke  and  tongues  of  flame  leaped  from  the 
fleet  of  the  foreign  war-ships  as  their  broadsides  thundered  the  con- 
gratulations of  Christendom  to  New  Japan.  But  all  ceremony,  pag- 
eant, and  loyal  hosannas  paled  before  the  sublime  significance  of  the 
act  of  the  mikado,  when  four  of  his  subjects,  in  the  plain  garb  of  mer- 
chants, stood  in  the  presence  of  majesty,  and  read  an  address  of  con- 
gratulation, to  which  the  emperor  replied.  The  merchant  face  to  face 
with  the  mikado  ?  The  lowest  social  class  before  traditional  divinity  ? 
It  was  a  political  miracle !  I  saw  in  that  scene  a  moral  grandeur  that 


566  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

measured  itself  against  centuries  of  feudalism.  What  were  war's  vic- 
tories, or  the  pomp  of  courts,  compared  with  that  moment  when  Japa- 
nese social  progress  and  national  regeneration  touched  high -water 
mark?  It  foreshadowed  the  time  to  come  when  the  merchant,  no 
longer  despised,  should  take  his  place  in  the  council-halls  of  the  nation. 

When  representative  government  comes,  as  come  it  must,  the  mer- 
chant, becoming  senator,  will  help  to  sway  the  national  destinies. 
The  emperor  in  whose  reign  the  eta  were  made  citizens — an  act  as 
morally  grand  as  the  emancipation  of  slaves — now  dwells  at  times  the 
guest  of  a  merchant.  Before  the  end  of  this  century,  it  may  be,  the 
throne,  no  longer  stilted  on  the  effete  fiction  of  petty  divinity,  may 
rest  wholly  upon  constitution,  law,  and  intelligent  patriotism. 

The  doctrine  of  the  divine  descent  of  the  mikado  has  been  very 
useful  in  times  past ;  but  its  work  is  done.  Its  light  is  paling ;  it  is 
time  for  its  wane ;  it  can  not  long  remain  above  the  horizon.  There 
are  so  many  Sons  of  Heaven,  so  many  Centres  of  the  Universe,  Infal- 
libilities, etc.,  in  Asia,  where  the  fashion  still  lingers  of  making  gods 
of  men  for  the  purposes  of  political  machinery,  that  the  very  mention 
of  such  an  idea  is  an  evidence  of  weakness,  even  of  imbecility.  Japan 
will  win  the  respect  of  civilization  by  dropping  the  fiction.* 

Again,  in  the  same  year,  Japan  challenged  the  admiration  of  Chris- 
tendom. The  coolie  trade,  carried  on  by  the  Portuguese  at  Macao, 
in  China,  between  the  local  kidnapers  and  Peru  and  Cuba,  had  long 
existed  in  defiance  of  the  Chinese  Government.  Thousands  of  igno- 
rant Chinese  were  yearly  decoyed  to  Macao,  and  shipped,  in  swelter- 
ing ship-holds,  under  the  name  of  "  passengers."  In  Cuba  and  Peru, 
their  contracts  were  often  broken,  they  were  cruelly  treated,  and  only 
a  small  proportion  of  them  returned  alive  to  tell  their  wrongs. 

The  Japanese  Government  had,  with  a  fierce  jealousy,  born  of  their 
experiences  of  slave-trade  in  the  sixteenth  century,  watched  the  first 
beginnings  of  such  a  traffic  on  their  own  shores.  Certain  "  Chris- 
tian "  nations  seemed  to  have  a  special  inclination  to  trade  in  human 
flesh.  The  Dutch  at  Deshima  during  two  centuries  gave  them  exam- 
ples of  sordid  greed  that  stops  not  at  selling  men.  Even  their  own 
pagan  morals  taught  them  the  iniquity  of  the  traffic.  The*  works  of 

*  The  propriety  of  giving  the  title  "The  Mikado's  Empire"  to  this  book  lias 
been  challenged  by  several  modernized  Japanese,  who  believe  that  the  life  of  the 
nation  is  more  than  the  meat  of  a  title,  and  the  body  more  than  its  raiment  of  im- 
perialism; but  the  vindication  of  its  use  is  abundantly  shown  in  Japan's  past  and 
present. 


NEW  JAPAN.  567 

Japanese  authors  condemn  the  crime  in  unsparing  terms,  and  load 
those  guilty  of  it  with  obloquy.  In  the  last  days  of  the  bakufu, 
coolie  traders  came  to  Japan  to  ship  irresponsible  hordes  of  Japanese 
coolies,  and  women  for  a  viler  purpose,  to  the  United  States.  To  their 
everlasting  shame,  be  it  said,  some  were  Americans.  A  few  cargoes 
were  sent  to  Hawaii  and  California,  and  natives  of  Japan  were  actual- 
ly sold  for  contemptible  sums  to  task-masters.  Of  those  who  return- 
ed were  some  of  my  own  students.  Among  the  first  things  done  by 
the  mikado's  Government  after  the  Restoration  was  the  sending  of  an 
official  who  effected  the  joyful  delivery  of  these  people  and  their  re- 
turn to  their  homes.  No  Japanese  are  ever  allowed  to  go  abroad,  ex- 
cept as  responsible,  competent,  and  respectable  citizens,  who  will  do 
credit  to  their  country. 

The  story  of  the  Maria  Luz  is  a  long  one.  I  hope  to  condense  it 
justly.  The  Peruvian  ship,  loaded  with  Chinese,  put  into  the  port  of 
Yokohama.  Two  fugitive  coolies  in  succession  swam  to  the  English 
war -ship,  Iron  Duke.  Hearing  the  piteous  story  of  their  wrongs, 
Mr.  Watson,  the  British  charge  d'affaires,  called  the  attention  of  the 
Japanese  authorities  to  these  illegal  acts  committed  in  their  waters. 
A  protracted  inquiry  was  instituted,  and  the  coolies  landed.  The 
Japanese  refused  to  force  them  on  board  in  duress  against  their  will, 
and  later,  shipped  them  to  China,  a  favor  which  was  gratefully  ac- 
knowledged by  the  Peking  Government.  This  act  of  a  pagan  nation 
achieved  a  grand  moral  victory  for  the  world  and  humanity.  Writ- 
ing now,  in  1876,  we  see  the  coolie-traffic — a  euphemism  for  the  slave- 
trade — abolished  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  the  barracoons  of  Ma- 
cao in  ruins.  China,  shamed  into  better  care  of  her  people,  has  sent 
commissioners  to  Cuba  and  Peru,  and  has  refused  to  enter  into  any 
treaty  obligation  with  any  South  American  State  so  long  as  a  single 
Chinaman  remains  in  the  country  against  his  will.  Instead  of  a  bom- 
bardment by  Peruvian  iron-clads,  and  war,  so  generously  threatened, 
Japan  and  Peru  have  clasped  reconciled  hands  in  friendship.  The 
case  of  the  Maria  Luz,  referred  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia  for  arbitra- 
tion, was  decided  by  him  in  favor  of  Japan.  A  Peruvian  legation  is 
now  established  in  Tokio.  Yet  the  act  of  freeing  the  Chinese  coolies 
in  1872  was  done  in  the  face  of  clamor  and  opposition  and  a  rain  of 
protests  from  the  foreign  consuls,  ministers,  and  a  part  of  the  press. 
But  abuse  and  threats  and  diplomatic  pressure  were  in  vain.  The 
Japanese  never  wavered.  As  straight  as  Gulliver  through  the  hail 
of  pin-point  arrows,  the  Japanese  marched  to  the  duty  before  them. 


568  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

They  had  freed  their  eta;  they  now  liberated  the  slaves.  The  Brit- 
ish charge  and  the  American  consul,  Colonel  Charles  O.  Shepherd, 
alone  gave  hearty  support  and  unwavering  sympathy  to  the  right  side. 

During  the  year  1872,  two  legations  and  three  consulates  were  es- 
tablished abroad.  The  number  of  these  is  now  ten  in  all.  At  home 
the  work  of  national  consolidation  went  on,  occasionally  interrupt- 
ed by  sporadic  uprisings  of  peasantry,  too  ignorant  to  sec  that  local 
abuses  or  privileges  were  being  adjusted  to  a  national  basis  of  just 
equality.  The  press  of  Japan  passed  from  the  realm  of  experiment  into 
that  of  an  estate.  The  wondrous  growth  of  this  civilizing  force  is 
best  seen  by  a  study  of  the  postal  statistics  on  page  590.  Ten  daily 
newspapers  in  the  capital,  and  two  hundred  publications  in  the  em- 
pire, furnished  with  metal  type  and  printing-presses,  are  flooding  the 
country  with  information  and  awakening  thought.  The  editors  are 
often  men  of  culture,  or  students  returned  from  abroad,  and  special 
scholars  are  found  on  the  editorial  staff.  The  surprisingly  large 
measure  of  liberty  of  the  press  granted  in  1872,  1873,  and  1874  was 
severely  curtailed  in  1875,  and  the  problem  of  allowing  newspapers  in 
a  country  still  governed  by  a  despotic  monarchy  remains  unsolved. 
The  Japanese  statesmen  seem  to  imagine  that  a  people  may  be  educa- 
ted thoroughly,  and  yet  be  governed  like  children.  To  show  the  power 
possessed  by  the  Government  over  the  people,  it  is  enough  to  say  that 
the  whereabouts  of  ninety-nine  hundredths  of  all  the  citizens  during 
any  given  past  twenty-four  hours  can  be  told  with  great  certainty. 

The  establishment  of  the  press  has  also  exposed  the  fact  that  in 
these  isles  of  the  blest,  in  which  some  foreigners  supposed  existed 
only  innocence,  gentleness,  or  good  -  mannered  poverty,  reeks  every 
species  of  moral  filth,  abomination,  crime,  and  corruption.  To  sc,"n 
the  columns  of  an  average  Japanese  newspaper  is  to  read  a  tale  of 
horror  and  nastincss  that  puts  to  the  blush  the  obscene  calendars  in 
the  sensational  dailies  and  illustrated  Police  Gazettes  of  New  York, 
which  find  their  way  only  too  plentifully  into  the  editorial  rooms  of 
Japanese  cities.  As  one  measure  of  crime  in  Dai  Nippon,  I  believe  the 
number  of  executions  and  deaths  in  the  native  prisons  averages  three 
thousand  per  annum.  There  is  scarcely  a  form  of  sin  known  to  Sodom, 
Greece,  Rome,  or  India,  but  has  been,  or  is,  practiced  in  Japan,  which 
has  sorest  need  of  moral  renovation. 

Yet  in  the  department  of  jurisprudence  vast  progress  has  been 
made.  I  doubt  whether  any  nation  on  earth  can  show  a  more  revolt- 
ing list  of  horrible  methods  of  torture  and  punishment  in  the  past 


NEW  JAPAN. 


569 


with  so  great  amelioration  in  so  short  a  time.     Their  cruel  and  bloody 
codes  were  mostly  borrowed  from  China. 

Since  the  Restoration,  revised  statutes  and  regulations  have  greatly 
decreased  the  list  of  capital  punishments,  reformed  the  condition  of 
prisons,  and  made  legal  processes  less  cruelly  simple,  but  with  elabora- 
tion of  mercy  and  justice.  The  use  of  torture  to  obtain  testimony  is 
now  entirely  abolished.  Law  schools  have  also  been  established,  law- 
yers are  allowed  to  plead,  thus  giving  the  accused  the  assistance  of 
counsel  for  his  defense.  The  cut  represents  the  old  style  of  trial. 


Court  Scene.    Old  Style. 


The  prisoner,  the  torturer,  secretary,  and  judge  were  the  chief  or  only 
personages  at  the  trial.  A  museum  as  curious  as  any  to  be  found  in 
Europe  might  be  made  of  the  now  obsolete  instruments  of  torture. 
Let  us  hope  that  the  system  of  jurisprudence  founded  on  Roman  law, 
infused  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  may  be  imported,  and  flourish 
in  Japan.  This  is  now  being  done. 

In  moral  character,  the  average  Japanese  is  frank,  honest,  faithful, 
kind,  gentle,  courteous,  confiding,  affectionate,  filial,  loyal.  Love  of 
truth  for  its  own  sake,  chastity,  temperance,  are  not  characteristic 
virtues.  A  high,  almost  painful,  sense  of  honor  is  cultivated  by  the 
samurai.  In  spirit,  the  average  artisan  and  farmer  is  a  sheep.  In  in- 
tellectual capacity  the  actual  merchant  is  mean,  and  in  moral  character 
low.  He  is  beneath  the  Chinaman  in  this  respect.  The  male  Japa- 


570  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

nese  is  far  less  overbearing  and  more  chivalrous  to  woman  than  any 
other  Asiatic.  In  political  knowledge  or  gregarious  ability  the  coun- 
tryman is  a  baby,  and  the  city  artisan  a  boy.  The  peasant  is  a  pro- 
nounced pagan,  with  superstition  ingrained  and  dyed  into  the  very 
finest  fibre  of  his  nature. 

In  reverence  to  elders  and  to  antiquity,  obedience  to  parents,  gentle 
manners,  and  universal  courtesy  and  generous  impulses,  the  Japanese  are 
the  peers  of  any,  and  superior  to  many,  peoples  of  Christendom.  The 
idea  of  filial  obedience  has  been  developed  into  fanaticism,  is  the  main 
prop  of  paganism  and  superstition,  and  is  the  root  of  the  worst  blot 
on  the  Japanese  character — the  slavery  of  prostituted  women. 

To  sum  up :  Japanese  are  simply  human,  no  better,  no  worse  than 
mankind  outside.  The  attempts  of  good  people,  with  eyes  jaundiced 
by  theological  dogmatics,  to  put  so  heavy  a  coat  of  moral  tar  and 
feathers  upon  the  Japanese  as  to  make  them  sinners  above  all  nations ; 
or  of  hearty  haters  of  all  missionary  labors,  who  are  in  love  with  the 
Utopia  of  their  own  creation,  to  make  them  guileless  innocents,  must 
alike  fail  before  the  hard  facts. 

The  whole  question  of  the  ability  of  the  Japanese  to  receive  the 
highest  form  of  civilization  is  intimately  connected  with  their  phys- 
ical constitution. 

The  physique  of  the  mountaineers  and  sailors,  fishermen  and  stead- 
ily employed  coolies,  seems  to  be  the  finest.  The  average  height  of 
the  men  is  five  feet.  The  Japanese  never  smoke  opium,  like  the  Chi- 
nese ;  but  the  habit  of  filling  the  lungs  with  tobacco-smoke  and  exhal- 
ing it  through  the  nose  does  not  tend  to  pulmonary  health,  and,  in 
comparison  with  the  white  nations,  they  are  notably  flat  -  breasted. 
The  question  has  been  raised  as  to  whether  the  Japanese  are  a  degen- 
erate race.  I  think  the  evidence  leans  to  the  negative  side.  In  their 
method  of  rearing  infants,  only  the  hardy  ones  can  survive  the  expos- 
ure to  which  they  are  subject.  Deformity  is  strikingly  rare.  Rheu- 
matism, chills,  and  fever  in  the  low-lying  marshy  districts,  catarrh,  and 
diarrhea  are  common,  though  not  strikingly  so.  Nervous  disorders 
are  not  general.  Leprosy,  or  elephantiasis,  is  known,  and  kakke  (leg- 
humor)  is  peculiar  to  Japan.  It  is  probable  that  the  people  do  not 
always  take  extraordinary  pains  to  rear  deformed  infants.  Exposure 
or  desertion  of  children  is  an  almost  unheard-of  thing.  The  maim- 
ing and  breaking  of  limbs,  caused  by  accidents  —  by  falling,  explo- 
sions, etc. — so  frequent  in  countries  where  high  buildings  and  machin- 
ery are  in  general  use,  are  rare  among  the  Japanese.  Varicose  veins, 


NEW  JAPAN.  571 

resulting  from  sans-culottism,  furnish  a  curious  argument  in  favor  of  a 
liberal  supplement  to  Eden's  costume,  even  to  the  donning  of  unpiet- 
uresque  pantaloons.  Since  the  introduction  of  the  jin  -  riki  -  sha,  the 
prevalence  of  heart-disease  among  the  coolies  has  assumed  frightful 
proportions.  The  almost  national  change  for  the  better  in  the  diet, 
clothing,  and  public  hygienic  protection  and  education  of  the  people 
must  bear  good  fruit  for  future  generations,  and  greatly  improve  the 
average  physique  of  the  nation.* 

The  Corean  war  project  had,  in  1872,  become  popular  in  the  Cabi- 
net. It  was  the  absorbing  theme  of  the  army  and  navy.  The  samu- 
rai burned  to  make  "  the  glory  of  Japan  shine  beyond  the  seas."  It 
has  been  said  that  "  if  Japan  weighs  one  hundred  pounds,  Satsuma 
is  fifty  of  them."  This  warlike  clan,  and  that  of  Hizen,  boiling  over 
with  patriotism,  vexed  their  righteous  souls  daily  because  the  revolu- 
tion of  1868  had  gone  too  far.  The  Yamato  damashi  and  warlike  pol- 
icy were  giving  way  to  considerations  of  finance.  They  clamored  for 
a  general  return  to  ancient  ideals,  principles,  dress,  tonsure,  and  side- 
arms,  to  which  they  still  clung.  During  the  Tokugawa  period  Corea 
had  regularly  sent  embassies  of  homage  and  congratulation  to  Japan ; 
but,  not  relishing  the  change  of  affairs  in  1868,  disgusted  at  the  for- 
cignixing  tendencies  of  the  mikado's  Government,  incensed  at  Ja- 
pan's departure  from  Turanian  ideals,  and  emboldened  by  the  failure 
of  the  French  and  American  expeditions,  Corca  sent  insulting  letters, 
taunting  Japan  with  slavish  truckling  to  the  foreign  barbarians,  de- 
clared herself  an  enemy,  and  challenged  Japan  to  fight.  The  divul- 
ging of  this  news,  after  vain  attempts  to  repress  it,  acted  like  a  moral 
volcano. 

About  this  time,  a  Liu  Kiu  junk  was  wrecked  on  eastern  Formosa. 
The  crew  were  killed  by  the  savages,  and,  as  it  is  said,  eaten.  The 
Liu  Kiuans  appealed  to  their  tributary  lords  at  Satsuma,  who  referred 
the  matter  to  Tokio.  English,  Dutch,  American,  German,  and  Chinese 
ships  had,  from  time  to  time,  been  wrecked  on  this  "  cannibal "  coast, 
the  terror  of  the  commerce  of  Christendom.  Their  war-ships  vainly 

*  Medical  Statistics,  not  including  Naval  and  Military  Medical  Staff,  Hospitals,  and 
Students. — There  were  in  the  empire  in  1874:  1  Government  hospital;  21  public 
hospitals  (assisted  by  Government  grants  in  aid);  29  private  hospitals;  23,015 
physicians  practicing  according  to  Eastern,  and  5247  according  to  Western,  sci- 
ence; 5205  apothecaries;  361  mineral  springs;  944  patent  medicines  in  use. 
There  were,  in  1875,  as  many  as  25  foreign  surgeons  and  physicians  in  Japanese 
Government  employ,  with  250  students  in  the  Medical  College  in  Tokio,  and  75 
in  that  at  Nagasaki,  instructed  by  German,  Dutch,  and  English  professors. 


572  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

attempted  to  chastise  the  savages.  Soyejima,  with  others,  conceived 
the  idea  of  occupying  the  coast  to  rule  the  wild  tribes,  and  of  erect- 
ing light-houses,  in  the  interests  of  commerce.  China  laid  no  claim 
to  eastern  Formosa,  all  trace  of  which  was  omitted  from  maps  of 
the  "Middle  Kingdom."  In  the  spring  of  1873,  Soyejima  went  to 
Peking,  and  there  among  other  things  granted  him  was  an  audience 
with  the  Chinese  emperor.  He  thus  reaped  the  results  of  the  dip- 
lomatic labors  of  half  a  century.  The  Japanese  embassador  stood 
upright  before  the  Dragon  Face  and  the  Dragon  Throne,  robed  in 
the  tight  black  dress-coat,  pantaloons,  and  white  neck  linen  of  West- 
ern civilization,  bearing  the  congratulations  of  the  young  mikado  of 
the  Sunrise  to  the  youthful  emperor  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  In  the 
Tsung  Li  Yamen,  Chinese  responsibility  over  Eastern  Formosa  was 
disavowed,  and  the  right  of  Japan  to  chastise  the  savages  granted.  A 
Japanese  junk  was  wrecked  on  Formosa,  and  its  crew  stripped  and 
plundered,  while  Soyejima  was  absent  in  China.  This  event  piled 
fresh  fuel  on  the  flames  of  the  war  feeling,  now  popular  even  among 
the  unarmed  classes.  The  only  thing  waited  for  before  drawing  the 
sword  was  the  arrival  of  the  embassy. 

In  its  subordinate  objects  the  embassy  was  a  signal  success.  Much 
was  learned  of  Christendom.  The  results  at  home  were  the  splendid 
series  of  reforms  which  mark  the  year  1872  as  epochal.  Moral,  social, 
legal,  political,  educational,  and  material  changes  were  so  numerous 
and  sweeping  as  to  daze  the  alien  spectator  on  the  soil,  and  cause 
him  to  ask  .again,  "  Can  a  nation  be  born  at  once  ?" 

In  its  prime  object  the  embassy  was  a  magnificent  failure.  Be- 
yond amusement,  curiosity,  thirst  for  knowledge,  its  purpose  was 
constant,  single,  supreme.  It  was  to  ask  that  in  the  revision  of  the 
treaties  the  extra-territoriality  clause  be  stricken  out,  that  foreigners 
be  made  subject  to  fhe  laws  of  Japan.  The  failure  of  the  mission  was 
predicted  by  all  who  knew  the  facts.  From  Washington  to  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, point-blank  refusal  was  made.  No  Christian  governments 
would  for  a  moment  trust  their  people  to  pagan  edicts  and  prisons. 
While  Japan  slandered  Christianity  by  proclamations,  imprisoned  men 
for  their  belief,  knew  nothing  of  trial  by  jury,  of  the  habcas-corpus 
writ,  or  of  modern  jurisprudence ;  in  short,  while  Japan  maintained 
the  institutions  of  barbarism,  they  refused  to  recognize  her  as  peer  in 
the  comity  of  nations. 

Meanwhile,  at  home  the  watch-word  was  progress.  The  sale  of  orphan 
female  children  to  brothel  -  keepers,  the  traffic  in  native  or  European 


NEW  JAPAN,  573 

obscene  pictures,  the  lascivious  dances,  even  to  nudity,  of  the  sing- 
ing-girls, the  custom  of  promiscuous  bathing  in  the  public  baths,  and 
of  the  country  coolies  going  naked  or  nearly  without  clothing,  were 
abolished.  Public  decency  was  improved,  arid  the  standards  of  Chris- 
tendom attempted.  The  law  entered  that  the  offense  might  abound. 
Many  things  absolutely  innocent  became  at  once  relatively  sinful.  It 
was  an  earnest  effort  to  elevate  the  social  condition.  With  a  basis  of 
education  and  moral  training  in  the  minds  of  the  people  to  underlie 
the  Government  edicts,  complete  success  may  be  hoped  for ;  but  even 
in  the  mikado's  empire  the  moral  character  of  a  people  is  not  made 
or  unmade  by  fiat.  Marvelous  progress  has,  however,  been  made. 
The  slanderous  anti-Christian  kosatsu  were  also  taken  down,  and  the 
last  relic  of  public  persecution  for  conscience'  sake  removed.  The 
engraving,  page  368,  represents  a  vanished  curiosity.  A  noble  step 
was  still  further  taken  in  the  face  of  a  bigoted  priesthood  and  fanatic 
conservatives.  All  the  "  Christians  "  torn  from  their  homes  at  Ura- 
kami,  near  Nagasaki,  in  1868  and  1869,  and  exiled  and  imprisoned  in 
Kaga,  Echizen,  and  other  provinces,  were  set  free  and  restored  to  their 
native  villages.  This  measure  had  long  been  urged  by  Hon.  Charles 
E.  De  Long,  Sir  Harry  Parkes,  Mr.  F.  O.  Adams,  and  Count  Turenne. 
In  this  year  (1872)  I  made  a  tour  of  one  month,  over  nine  hundred 
miles,  to  Shidzuoka,  Kioto,  Fukui,  and  along  the  Sea  of  Japan,  to  near 
Niigata,  thence  through  Shinano  and  Kodzuke.  I  went  to  spy  out 
the  land  and  see  how  deeply  civilization  had  penetrated.  A  week's 
journey  was  also  made  through  Kadzusa  and  Awa,  another  in  Shimosa 
and  Hitachi,  and  three  separate  trips  for  purposes  of  research  in  Sa- 
gami,  Idzu,  and  Suruga.  My  intense  enjoyment  of  the  classic  ground 
was  shadowed  by  the  vivid  realization  of  the  poverty  of  the  country, 
the  low  estate  of  the  peasantry,  the  need  of  something  better  than 
paganism,  and  the  vastness  of  the  task  of  regenerating  an  agricultural 
nation.  The  task,  though  great,  is  not  hopeless.  I  was  pleased  to 
find  education  thoroughly  extended,  schools  everywhere,  and  boys  and 
girls  alike  studying  with  the  help  of  such  new  improvements  as  slate 
and  pencil,  blackboard  and  chalk,  charts  and  text-books  on  geography, 
history,  reading,  etc.,  translated  from  standard  American  school-books. 
In  Europe,  Iwakura  and  his  colleagues  were  cognizant  of  home 
affairs.  With  eyes  opened  by  all  they  had  seen  abroad  —  mighty 
results,  but  of  slow  growth  —  they  saw  their  country  going  too  fast. 
Under  the  war  project  lay  an  abyss  of  financial  ruin.  It  must  be 
crushed.  Shrewdly  they  laid  plans,  warily  they  kept  silence,  sudden- 


574  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

ly  they  struck  the  blow.  The  war  scheme,  brought  up  in  a  cabinet 
meeting,  was  squelched.  The  disappointment  of  the  army  was  keen, 
that  of  expectant  foreign  contractors  pitiable.  The  soldiers  vented 
their  rage  in  curses,  the  contractors  in  printed  mud.  Finding  it  use- 
less to  resist  the  crushing  power  of  Iwakura,  backed  by  Okubo,  Kido, 
Katsu  Ito,  and  Oki,  the  ablest  men  of  the  cabinet,  Goto,  Soyejima, 
and  Eto  resigned  and  retired  to  private  life. 

The  volcano  hardened  to  an  outer  crust.  The  war-loving  samurai 
looked  upon  Iwakura  as  a  peace-at-any-price  man.  He  was  also  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  financial  scheme,  now  promulgated,  of  com- 
muting, with  a  view  to  final  extinction,  the  samurai  pensions.  The 
nation,  groaning  under  this  burden — the  legacy  of  feudalism — must 
throw  it  off,  become  bankrupt,  or  go  back  to  isolation.  It  was  throt- 
tling the  life  of  the  nation. 

It  has  been  said  that  "  the  actual  government  of  Japan  is  despot- 
ism, tempered  by  assassination."  The  old  spirit  was  not  yet  dead. 
On  the  evening  of  January  14th,  outside  the  castle  moat,  and  near  the 
palace-gates,  the  U  Dai  Jin  was  returning  from  an  interview  with  the 
emperor.  In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  his  betto  was  cut  down,  the 
driver  wounded,  and  the  sides  of  the  carriage  pierced  and  cut  to  rib- 
bons with  spear-points  and  sword-blades.  Iwakura,  wounded  in  two 
places,  leaped  out  on  the  edge  of  the  moat.  He  fell,  and  rolled  into 
the  water.  The  foiled  assassins,  in  the  pitch-darkness,  not  daring  to 
linger  for  search,  and  unable  to  see  or  find  their  victim,  made  off. 
In  spite  of  wounds,  cold,  and  immersion,  the  U  Dai  Jin  recovered. 
Soon  afterward,  nine  ronins — eight  from  Tosa  and  one  from  Satsu- 
ma — were  arrested,  and  their  crime  proved.  The  U  Dai  Jin  pleaded 
that  merc}^  be  shown  them.  In  vain.  The  nine  heads  rolled  into 
the  blood-pit. 

On  the  17th  of  January,  the  ex-ministers,  Goto,  Soyejima,  Eto,  Ita- 
gaki,  with  Yuri,  of  Fukui,  and  others,  sent  in  a  memorial,  praying  for 
the  establishment  of  a  representative  assembly,  in  which  the  popular 
wish  might  be  discussed.  They  complained  that  authority  lay  neither 
with  the  crown  nor  people,  but  with  the  officials  in  power.  Their  re- 
quest was  declined.  It  was  officially  declared  that  Japan  was  not  ready 
for  such  institutions. 

Hizen,  the  home  of  one  of  the  great  clans  of  the  coalition  of  1868, 
was  now  the  chief  seat  of  disaffection.  With  perhaps  no  evil  intent, 
Eto,  who  had  been  head  of  the  Department  of  Justice,  had  gone  back 
to  his  home  in  Hizen,  an  example  which  many  of  his  clansmen  follow- 


NEW  JAPAN.  575 

ed,  among  them  Katsuki  Keguro,  a  student  educated  in  Albany  and 
London.  It  was  the  old  story  of  sectionalism  against  national  inter- 
ests. It  was  miniature  secession.  Scores  of  officials  and  men,  but 
very  few  students,  bound  by  oath  and  duty  to  the  National  Govern- 
ment, which  had  nourished  or  educated  them,  assembled  with  arms 
and  traitorous  intent  in  Hizcn,  and  raised  the  cry  of  "  On  to  Corea !" 

Here  was  armed  rebellion.  Were  the  flames  to  spread,  all  Kiushiu 
would  be  involved.  In  the  midst  of  the  impending  civil  war,  the  for- 
eign ministers  pressed  the  payment  of  the  last  installment  of  the  Shi- 
monoseki  indemnity,  expecting  that  Japan  could  not  or  would  not  pay 
it,  but  would  grant  more  one-sided  concessions.  In  pride  and  anger, 
the  Japanese  passed  over  the  money-bags,  and  closed  the  contemptible 
business  forever. 

The  political  barometer  now  began  rapidly  to  fall.  The  Hizen 
war-cloud  gathered  blackness.  The  storm  broke  in  war -fires  and 
battle-blood.  The  rebels  attacked  the  castle,  and  killed  the  garrison. 
Elated,  they  waited  to  see  all  Kiushiu  join  them.  Their  reckoning 
was  fifty  years  behind  the  age.  The  days  of  Old  Japan  were  passed. 
The  era  of  steam,  electricity,  and  breech-loaders  had  come.  From  the 
national  capital  darted  the  telegraphic  lightnings.  On  the  wings  of 
steam,  the  imperial  battalions  swooped  on  Saga,  as  if  by  magic.  The 
rebellion  was  annihilated  in  ten  days.  The  leader,  master-spirit,  and 
judge  was  Okubo,  modest  in  demeanor,  wise  in  council,  but  in  the  field 
the  lion-hearted  hero  that  knows  no  fear.  Eto,  Katsuki,  and  ten  oth- 
er ringleaders  were  sent  to  kneel  before  the  blood-pit.  The  sword 
fell  as  each  chanted  his  death-song.  The  heads  of  Eto  and  Shima 
were  exposed  on  the  pillory.  The  National  Government  was  vindi- 
cated, and  sectionalism  crushed,  perhaps,  forever.* 

The  story  of  the  Formosan  affair  is  more  familiar  to  my  readers. 
Thirteen  hundred  Japanese  soldiers  occupied  this  island  for  six  months. 
In  the  few  skirmishes  with  the  savages,  breech-loaders  prevailed  over 
arrows  and  smooth-bores.  The  imperial  troops  were  commanded  by 
Saigo  Yorimichi,  brother  of  Saigo  Kichinosuke.  They  built  roads, 

*  In  this  campaign,  over  40  villages  a|id  1000  houses  in  Saga  were  burned,  and 
350  of  the  national  troops  and  400  of  the  insurgents  were  put  hors  de  combat. 
About  500  persons  thus  lost  their  lives  by  war's  accidents,  and  195  were  punished 
with  hard  labor,  imprisonment,  or  degradation  from  the  rank  of  samurai.  Eto 
was  discovered  in  disguise,  by  means  of  a  photograph  for  which  he  had  sat,  to 
begin  a  "  rogue's  gallery,"  when  Minister  of  Justice,  in  Tokio.  Okubo  proved 
himself  a  Jackson,  not  a  Buchanan,  and  made  Saga  both  the  Sumter  and  the 
Petersburg  of  the  Hizen  secession. 


576  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

and  kept  camps,  and  made  fortifications  in  the  style  of  modern  engi- 
neering and  military  art.  The  attitude  of  China  at  first  had  been  that 
of  the  sleeping  crocodile  that  allows  the  tiny  bird  to  enter  its  mouth 
to  pick  its  teeth  for  food.  Incited,  however,  by  foreign  influence  in 
Peking,  the  sleepy  nation  woke  in  wrath  and  shame  at  the  rebuke  of 
Japan.  The  Chinese  Government  began  to  urge  their  claims  on  For- 
mosa, to  declare  the  Japanese  intruders,  and  to  menace  hostilities. 
For  a  time,  war  seemed  inevitable.  Again  the  man  for  the  crisis  was 
Okubo,  who  went  to  Peking.  The  result  of  this  was  that  the  Chi- 
nese paid,  in  solid  silver,  an  indemnity  of  seven  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  Japanese  disembarked.  To  outsiders  in  Europe,  the 
whole  affair  seemed  but  a  "  tempest  in  two  tea-pots ;"  but,  morally,  it 
was  sublime.  Japan,  single-handed,  with  no  foreign  sympathy,  but 
with  positive  opposition,  had,  in  the  interests  of  humanity,  rescued  a 
coast  from  terror,  and  placed  it  in  a  condition  of  safety.  In  the  face 
of  threatened  war,  a  nation  having  but  one-tenth  the  population,  area, 
and  resources  of  China,  had  abated  not  a  jot  of  its  just  demands,  nor 
flinched  from  the  wager  of  the  battle.  The  righteousness  of  her  cause 
was  vindicated.  China  now  occupies  Eastern  Formosa.  The  expedi- 
tion cost  Japan  five  millions  of  dollars.  Seven  hundred  victims  of  dis- 
ease in  peaceful  graves  sleep  under  the  camphor-trees  on  the  templed 
slopes  of  the  Nagasaki  hills. 

The  Corean  affair  ended  happily.  In  1875,  Mr.  Arinori  Mori  went 
to  Peking.  Kuroda  Kiyotaka,  with  men  -  of  -  war,  entered  Corean  wa- 
ters. Patience,  skill,  and  tact  were  crowned  with  success.  On  behalf 
of  Japan,  a  treaty  of  peace,  friendship,  and  commerce  was  made  be- 
tween the  two  countries,  February  27th,  1876.  Japan  has  thus  peace- 
fully opened  this  last  of  the  hermit  nations  to  the  world. 

Japan  was  among  the  first  to  accept  the  invitation  to  be  represent- 
ed at  the  centennial  of  American  independence.  A  commission  was 
appointed,  of  which  Okubo  was  made  president,  and  General  Saigo 
Tsukumichi  vice-president. 

Let  us  now  award  to  every  nation  due  honor.  The  Portuguese  dis- 
covered Japan,  and  gave  her  slave-traders  and  the  Jesuits;  the  Span- 
iards sent  friars,  slavers,  and  conspirators;  the  Dutch  ignobly  kept  alive 
our  knowledge  of  Japan  during  her  hermit  life ;  the  Russians,  after  no- 
ble and  base  failures  to  open  the  country,  harried  her  shores.  Then 
came  Perry,  the  moral  grandeur  of  whose  peaceful  triumph  has  never 
been  challenged  or  compromised.  The  United  States  introduced  Ja- 
pan to  the  world,  though  her  opening  could  not  have  been  long  delay- 


NEW  JAPAN,  577 

cd.  The  American,  Townsend  Harris,  peer  and  successor  to  Perry,  by 
his  dauntless  courage,  patience,  courtesy,  gentleness,  firmness,  and  in- 
corruptible honesty,  won  for  all  nations  treaties,  trade,  residence,  and 
commerce.  The  Dutch  secured  the  abolition  of  insults  to  Christianity. 
To  the  English  was  reserved  a  quiet  victory  and  a  mighty  discovery, 
second  to  none  achieved  on  the  soil  of  the  mysterious  islands.  En 
glish  scholarship  first  discovered  the  true  source  of  power,  exposed  the 
counterfeit  government  in  Yedo,  read  the  riddle  of  ages,  and  rent  the 
veil  that  so  long  hid  the  truth.  It  was  the  English  minister,  Sir  Har- 
ry Parkes,  who  first  risked  his  life  to  find  the  truth ;  stripped  the  sho- 
gun  of  his  fictitious  title  of  "  majesty ;"  asked  for  at  home,  obtained, 
and  presented  credentials  to  the  mikado,  the  sovereign  of  Japan  ;  recog- 
nized the  new  National  Government,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of 
true  diplomacy  in  Japan.  It  is  but  fair  to  note  that  Americans  have, 
in  certain  emergencies,  derived  no  small  advantage  from  the  expensive 
show  of  English  and  French  force  in  the  seas  of  China  and  Japan, 
and  from  the  literary  fruits  of  the  unrivaled  British  Civil  Service. 

Let  us  note  what  Americans  have  done.  Our  missionaries,  a  no- 
ble body  of  cultured  gentlemen  and  ladies,  with  but  few  exceptions, 
have  translated  large  portions  of  the  Bible  in  a  scholarly  and  simple 
version,  and  thus  given  to  Japan  the  sum  of  religious  knowledge  and 
the  mightiest  moral  force  and  motor  of  civilization.  The  standard 
Japanese-English  and  English-Japanese  dictionary  is  the  fruit  of  thir- 
teen years'  labor  of  an  eminent  scholar,  translator,  physician,  and  phi- 
lanthropist, J.  C.  Hepburn  M.D.,  LL.D.  The  first  grammar  of  the 
Japanese  language  printed  in  English,  the  beginnings  of  a  Christian 
popular  literature  and  hymnology,  the  organization  of  Christian 
churches,  the  introduction  of  theological  seminaries,  and  of  girls' 
schools,  are  the  work  of  American  ladies  and  gentlemen.  The  first 
regular  teachers  in  their  schools,  and  probably  half  their  staff  in  their 
colleges,  are  Americans.  In  the  grand  work  of  agricultural  and  min- 
eral development,  in  the  healing  art,  and  in  jurisprudence,  education, 
and  financiering,  Americans  have  done  valuable  service. 

Foreigners  suppose  the  present  Government  to  be  modeled  on  the 
French  system  of  ministries,  whereas  it  is  simply  the  modernized 
form  of  the  constitution  of  the  Osei  era  (see  pages  103,  104) :  1.  the 
Emperor ;  2.  the  Dai  Jo  Kuan  ;  3.  the  Sa  In,  Loft  Chamber ;  the  Genro 
In,  or  Council  of  State ;  4.  the  IT  In,  or  Right  Chamber,  Council  of 
Ministers  or  Heads  of  Department  (Sho),  which  number  ten  (see  paire 
598).  The  Dai  Jo  Kuan  also  directs  the  three  imperial  cities  (fu)  and 


578  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

sixty-eight  ken,  or  prefectures.  The  "  provinces  "  are  now  merely  geo- 
graphical divisions. 

In  accordance  with  the  oath  of  the  mikado  in  Kioto,  in  1868,  that 
"  intellect  and  learning  should  be  sought  for  throughout  the  world,  in 
order  to  establish  the  foundations  of  the  empire"  (see  page  318),  about 
four  hundred  foreigners,  from  many  countries,  have  been  in  the  Civiv 
Service  of  the  Government.  All  these,  with  but  two  exceptions,  are 
simply  helpers  and  servants,  not  commissioned  officers,  and  have  no  act- 
ual authority.  To  their  faithful  and  competent  advisers  they  award  a 
fair  measure  of  confidence  and  co-operation.  To  the  worthless,  nepot- 
ic, or  those  who  would  play  the  lord  over  their  employers,  they  quiet- 
ly pay  salary  and  snub.  Whoever  expects  to  be  master  will  find  him- 
self a  cipher.  Nevertheless,  whosoever  would  serve  well  will  surely 
rule. 

Can  an  Asiatic  despotism,  based  on  paganism,  and  propped  on  a  fic- 
tion, regenerate  itself  ?  Can  Japan  go  on  in  the  race  she  has  begun  ? 
Will  the  mighty  reforms  now  attempted  be  completed  and  made  per- 
manent ?  Can  a  nation  appropriate  the  fruits  of  Christian  civilization 
without  its  root?  I  believe  not.  I  can  not  but  think  that  unless  the 
modern  enlightened  ideas  of  government,  law,  society,  and  the  rights 
of  the  individual  be  adopted  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  they  have 
been,  the  people  be  thoroughly  educated,  and  a  mightier  spiritual  force 
replace  Shinto  and  Buddhism,  little  will  be  gained  but  a  glittering 
veneer  of  material  civilization  and  the  corroding  foreign  vices,  under 
which,  in  the  presence  of  the  superior  aggressive  nations  of  the  West, 
Dai  Nippon  must  fall  like  the  doomed  races  of  America. 

A  new  sun  is  rising  on  Japan.  In  1870  there  were  not  ten  Prot- 
estant Christians  in  the  empire.  There  are  now  (May,  1876)  ten 
churches,  with  a  membership  of  eight  hundred  souls.  Gently,  but  re- 
sistlessly,  Christianity  is  leavening  the  nation.  In  the  next  century 
the  native  word  inaka  (rustic,  boor)  will  mean  "heathen."  With 
those  forcefe  that  centre  in  pure  Christianity,  and  under  that  Almighty 
Providence  who  raises  up  one  nation  and  casts  down  another,  I  cher- 
ish the  firm  hope  that  Japan  will  in  time  take  and  hold  her  equal 
place  among  the  foremost  nations  of  the  world,  and  that,  in  the  on- 
ward march  of  civilization  which  follows  the  sun,  the  Sun -land  may 
lead  the  nations  of  Asia  that  are  now  appearing  in  the  theatre  of  uni- 
versal history. 


BOOK   III. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  CHAPTERS,  INCLUDING  HISTORY  TO 
THE  BEGINNING  OF  1903, 


JAPAN  IN  1883.  581 


I. 

JAPAN  IN  1883. 

OUR  record  of  events  in  the  last  chapter  closed  with  a  notice  of 
the  treaty  made  with  Corea,  February  27th,  1876,  a  diplomatic  tri- 
umph which  so  silenced  the  disaffected,  and  so  strengthened  the 
power  of  the  Government,  that  immediate  advantage  was  taken  of  it 
to  disarm  the  samurai.  In  response  to  a  public  sentiment  already 
grown  strong,  and  especially  to  the  memorial  of  December  7th,  1875, 
from  Yamagata,  the  Minister  of  War,  the  Premier  Sanjo,  on  the  28th 
of  March,  1876,  issued  a  proclamation  abolishing  the  custom  of  wear- 
ing two  swords :  "  No  individual  will  henceforth  be  permitted  to 
wear  a  sword  unless  he  be  in  court  dress,  a  member  of  the  military 
or  naval  forces,  or  a  police  officer."  This  measure,  first  advocated 
by  Arinori  Mori,  in  1870,  now  became  law  throughout  the  land — 
even  in  Satsuma. 

The  Coreans  responded  promptly  to  their  treaty  obligations.  A 
Japanese  steamer  was  sent  to  Fusan ;  and  the  embassy  from  Seoul, 
numbering  eighty  persons  in  all,  landed  at  Yokohama  May  29th,  the 
ambassador  receiving  audience  of  the  mikado  June  1st.  These  Co- 
reans were  the  first  accredited  to  Japan  since  1835,  and  none  had 
come  as  far  east  as  Yedo  since  the  last  century.  Then  they  were  the 
guests  of  the  shogun ;  but  now  direct  official  relations  with  the  mika- 
do were  resumed,  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  a  millennium.  These  men, 
in  huge  hats,  and  white,  blue,  and  pink  cotton  or  silk  robes,  were 
profusely  entertained  in  Tokio.  They  visited  the  public  buildings, 
schools,  founderies,  and  arsenals,  inspecting  the  curious  things  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  but  avoiding  all  white  foreigners  as  though  they 
were  reptiles,  and  embarked  for  home  June  18th. 

Meanwhile  the  mikado,  accompanied  by  several  members  of  his 
cabinet,  set  out  on  a  tour  overland  to  Yezo.  No  emperor  of  Japan 
had  ever  visited  the  northern  provinces,  and  the  delight  of  the  people 
at  seeing  their  sovereign  was  intense.  Visiting  Nikko  and  the  cas- 
tled towns  along  the  route,  the  emperor  made  himself  everywhere 


582  THE  MIKADO'S  UMPIRE. 

visible,  allowing  no  check  to  be  placed  upon  the  business  or  behavior 
H)f  the  people,  except  that  which  their  own  sense  of  respect  imposed. 
Among  the  excellent  fruits  of  this  tour  were :  the  erection  of  a  mon- 
ument to  the  patriot  Rin  Shihei  ;*  the  making  public  of  the  docu- 
ments and  relics  of  Father  Louis  Sotelo  ;f  and  the  gracious  reception 
of  an  address  to  his  majesty  from  the  Greek  Church  Christians  of 
Sendai,  which  augured  the  near  future  of  complete  religious  tolera- 
tion. The  imperial  journey,  begun  June  2d,  was  continued  until  the 
middle  of  July.  His  return  to  the  capital  amid  many  demonstra- 
tions of  popular  joy  was  soon  after  signalized  by  another  bold  stroke 
of  power.  On  the  5th  of  August  the  measure,  long  before  conceived, 
of  extinguishing  the  hereditary  pensions  and  life-incomes  of  the  sa- 
murai, was  proclaimed.  Commutation  in  Government  bonds,  at  from 
five  to  fourteen  years'  purchase,  was  made  obligatory  upon  all.  The 
scheme  provided  that  the  largest  incomes  should  be  extinguished  first, 
and,  when  completed,  will  relieve  the  national  Treasury  of  an  annual 
burden  of  about  $20,000,000.  This  act  of  the  Government,  which 
lightened  the  enforced  poverty  of  thirty  millions  of  people,  and  com- 
pelled the  privileged  classes  to  begin  to  earn  their  bread,  was  warmly 
welcomed  by  the  masses. 

On  the  21st  of  August  another  measure  in  the  interest  of  public 
economy  and  of  centralization  was  carried  out :  the  empire  was  re- 
divided,  and  the  sixty-eight  ken  or  prefectures  were  reduced  in  num- 
ber to  thirty-five. 

These  radical  measures  enforced  by  the  mikado's  advisers — an  ir- 
responsible ministry,  possessing  slight  facilities  for  adequately  gauging 

*  Rin  Shihei,  a  native  of  Sendai — whose  work  San  Koku  Tsuran  To-setsu  ("  Gen- 
eral View  of  the  Three  Kingdoms  [tributary  to  Japan],  i.  e.,  Corea,  Yezo,  and  Riu 
Kiu  "),  was  printed  in  1785,  and. translated  by  Klaproth  in  1832 — was  born  in  1737. 
A  far-seeing  patriot,  he  studied  military  strategy  while  making  pedestrian  ex- 
cursions over  the  whole  of  Japan,  especially  along  the  coast,  and  by  learning 
from  the  Dutch  at  Nagasaki  and  the  Russians  in  Yezo.  He  was  keenly  alive  to 
the  subject  of  national  progress  and  defense.  His  maps  and  books  fell  under  the 
eye  of  the  censors  (p.  295)  of  the  shogun,  who  ordered  the  plates  of  his  publica- 
tions to  be  destroyed,  and  had  him  thrown  into  prison,  from  which  he  never 
came  out  alive. 

t  Father  Louis  Sotelo  was  a  Spanish  Franciscan  friar,  who,  with  Hashikura 
Rokuyemon,  a  retainer  of  the  daimio  of  Sendai,  sailed  across  the  Pacific  in  a 
Japanese  ship  (p.  246)  to  Mexico  in  1613,  and  thence  reached  Seville  and  Rome. 
They  had  audience  of  Pope  Paul  V.,  and  Hashikura  was  made  a  Roman  senator. 
They  returned  by  way  of  Mexico  to  Japan;  but  Hashikura  was  compelled  to 
renounce  his  faith,  and  Sotelo  was  martyred  at  Nagasaki.  (See  Hildreth's 
"Japan,"  pp.  158,199.) 


JAPAN  IN  1883.  583 

public  opinion — were  not  executed  without  protest  within  and  without 
the  cabinet.  In  the  south-west,  especially,  were  many  earnest  men, 
narrow  and  unprogressive,  perhaps,  who  grieved  deeply  over  the  decay 
of  old  customs,  the  secularization  of  the  Divine  Country,  the  arbitrary 
policy  and  personal  extravagance  of  "  the  bad  councillors  of  the  em- 
peror," and  his  "imprisonment"  by  them,  the  influence  of  foreign- 
ers, the  toleration  of  Christianity,  and  the  loss  of  their  swords  and 
pensions.  Among  the  leaders  of  these  conservatives  were  Mayebara 
and  Uyeno — the  one  a  discharged  office-holder,  and  the  other  a  man 
of  seventy — whose  followers  organized  clubs  named  Jimpu  (Divine 
Breath,  or  Wind)  and  Sonno-Joi  (Reverence  to  the  Mikado,  and  Ex- 
pulsion of  the  Barbarian). 

On  the  24th  of  October  a  party  of  nearly  two  hundred  of  these  fa- 
natics, dressed  in  beetle-headed  iron  helmets  and  old  armor  made  of 
steel  and  paper  laced  with  silk,  and  armed  with  spears  and  swords, 
attacked  the  imperial  garrison  at  Kumamoto,  in  Higo.  They  suc- 
ceeded in  injuring  about  three  hundred  of  the  troops  before  they  were 
dispersed,  taken  prisoners,  or  had  disemboweled  themselves.  Other 
uprisings,  more  easily  quelled,  took  place  in  Kiushiu;  while  in  Cho- 
shiu,  Mayebara  led  five  hundred  armed  men  vainly  against  the  new 
order  of  things,  in  which  rifles,  cannon,  telegraphs,  and  steamers 
played  their  part.  As  by  some  new  Jove,  with  hands  full  of  thun- 
der-bolts, these  Titans  of  a  later  day  were  transfixed  by  the  lightnings 
hurled  from  Tokio  in  the  form  of  steamers  and  rifled  artillery.  Quiet 
was  entirely  restored  by  December.  A  few  heads  were  struck  off, 
hundreds  of  the  choteki  were  exiled  or  degraded,  and  another  of  the 
throes  of  expiring  feudalism  was  over. 

The  next  insurrections  were  by  men  equipped  in  calico,  with  rush 
hats  and  straw  sandals,  gathered  under  banners  of  matting  inscribed 
with  mottoes  daubed  on  in  ink,  and  armed  with  spears  made  by 
pointing  and  fire  -  hardening  staves  of  bamboos.  These  embattled 
fanners  were  enraged  because  the  taxes  had  been  changed  from  kind 
to  money,  and,  instead  of  being  assessed  on  the  produce,  were  laid 
on  the  soil.  Assaulting  the  local  magistrates'  offices,  they  had  to  be 
dispersed  by  the  military,  in  some  cases  only  after  bloodshed.  Time, 
good  roads,  banking  facilities,  clearer  understanding  of  the  purpose 
of  the  Government,  have  already  changed  temporary  distress,  caused 
by  innovations,  into  satisfied  prosperity. 

These  violent  expressions  of  the  real  grievances  of  the  agricultural 
class,  on  whom  the  burdens  of  taxation  mainly  fall — three-fourths, 


584  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

or  $50,000,000,  of  the  total  revenue  of  the  empire  ($69,000,000), 
being  drawn  from  the  tax  on  land — hastened  another  beneficial  re- 
form. On  the  4th  of  January,  1877,  the  national  land-tax  was  re- 
duced from  three  to  two  and  a  half  per  cent. — a  loss  to  the  Treasury 
of  about  $8,000,000.  The  local  tax,  formerly  amounting  to  one- 
third  of  the  land-tax,  was  reduced  to  one-fifth,  or  nearly  one-half. 
About  the  same  time  two  other  sweeping  measures  of  economy,  in- 
tended as  an  offset,  were  carried  out.  Besides  thus  directly  relieving 
the  people,  the  salaries  of  nearly  all  the  Government  officers  and  the 
expenses  of  the  departments  were  reduced,  several  thousand  office- 
holders were  discharged,  the  Department  of  Religion  (Kio  Bu  Sho) 
and  the  Prefecture  of  Police  were  abolished,  and  their  functions  trans- 
ferred to  the  Home  Department,  and  a  saving  of  about  $8,000,000 
annually  effected,  to  balance  the  loss  to  the  Treasury  from  reform  in 
the  tax  on  land.  Such  a  movement  in  official  circles,  popularly  called 
ajishin  (earthquake),  met  with  the  keen  satisfaction  of  the  majority, 
the  joy  of  the  citizens  and  peasantry  being  "  beyond  imagination." 
The  Government  now  began  to  be  less  afraid  of  Satsuma;  less  careful, 
also,  perhaps,  to  keep  informed  of  the  state  of  public  opinion,  since 
the  press  laws  were  excessively  stringent,  and  there  was  no  safety- 
valve  for  discontent. 

The  year  1876  will  ever  remain  memorable  as  the  critical  year  in 
Japanese  journalism,  when  the  seventy  of  the  press  laws  and  Govern- 
ment prosecutions  was  more  than  equaled  by  the  courage,  firmness, 
and  patience  of  a  noble  army  of  editors  and  writers,  who  crowded  the 
jails  of  Japan,  and  joyfully  suffered  fines  and  imprisonment  in  order 
to  secure  a  measure  of  "the  freedom  of  the  press" — a  phrase  which 
is  the  watch-word  of  liberty,  not  only  in  Europe  and  America,  but 
among  the  Japanese  also,  in  whose  language  it  has  become  domesti- 
cated in  common  speech,  like  the  new  words  which  science,  religion, 
and  advancing  political  knowledge  require  for  their  expression. 

Closely  connected  with  all  measures  of  genuine  reform  is  the  name 
of  Kido,  "the  finest  intellect"  and  "the  brain  and  pen"  of  the  revo- 
lution. While  other  leaders  were  eager  and  able  to  break  down, 
Kido  was  pre-eminently  the  builder -up,  and  his  genius  essentially 
constructive.  Himself  the  purest  representative  of  the  mind  of 
Japan,  he  had  applied  the  logic  of  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  Japanese 
politics — the  divine  right  of  the  mikado  to  govern  his  people — and 
feudalism  fell.  lie  believed  in  discussion,  in  the  wisdom  of  the  ma- 
jority, and  so  he  established  newspapers  and  pleaded  for  represents- 


JAPAN  IN  1883.  585 

tive  assemblies.  He  incarnated  the  soul  of  peaceful  progress.  lie 
opposed  alike  the  Corcan  and  Formosan  war  projects,  and  the  too 
rapid  capitalization  of  the  samurai's  pensions.  He  applied  himself 
to  master  the  details  of  local  administration,  and  carefully  studied  the 
problems  of  taxation  and  municipal  procedure,  both  at  home  and  in 
Europe  and  America.  To  rare  political  ability  he  joined  an  unselfish 
patriotism  and  a  stainless  record.  Amidst  all  the  clash  of  opposing 
interests  which  the  destruction  of  the  old  and  the  creation  of  new 
institutions  called  out  the  voice  of  Kido  was  ever  authoritative. 
While  Okubo  represented  the  foreign  side  of  the  revolution,  and 
Saigo  the  military  genius  of  Old  Nippon,  Kido  embodied  in  himself 
the  best  elements  of  New  Japan,  lie  had  been  especially  earnest  and 
influential  in  bringing  about  the  reforms  in  taxation  and  govern- 
mental economy,  and  in  the  calling  together  of  a  deliberative  body 
of  the  ken  and  fu  magistrates,  which,  meeting  in  Tokio  in  1875,  was 
opened  by  the  mikado  in  person,  and  presided  over  by  himself.  He 
was  now  hoping  to  conciliate  the  disaffected  samurai  of  Kiushiu  and 
the  one  man  whom  they  trusted,  after  having  been,  as  they  believed, 
betrayed  by  Okubo  and  the  irresponsible  ministers  in  Tokio.  Had 
Kido  lived,  the  sad  and  costly  civil  war  might  not  have  broken  out. 
in  the  moment  of  his  country's  greatest  need  this  noble  patriot,  over- 
wearied and  wounded  in  spirit,  was  seized  with  a  disease  which  soon 
made  him  understand  that  his  work  was  nearly  over.  He  died  at 
Kioto,  May  27th,  1877. 

Ever  since  1868  Satsuma  had  remained  the  one  portion  of  the  em- 
pire unassimilated  to  the  life  of  progressive  Japan.  The  old  clan 
which  of  old  had  awed  the  Yedo  shoguns  now  terrified  the  rest  of  the 
country.  Goaded  by  hatred  and  long-cherished  revenge,  the  Satsuma 
men,  without  any  sympathy  with  the  nation  at  large,  had  led  in  the 
overthrow  of  their  enemies,  the  Tokugawas.  The  political  education 
of  most  of  the  clansmen  was  purely  feudal.  Their  compass  of  duty, 
vibrating  between  reverence  to  the  mikado  and  hatred  to  barbarians, 
pointed  to  personal  loyalty  as  their  lodestar.  Anything  broader  in 
scope  than  the  old  elements  of  Japanese  politics — loyalty  to  their 
chief,  clan-fights,  struggles  between  rival  factions  for  the  person  of 
the  mikado,  the  reign  of  the  sword  held  by  the  idle  and  privileged 
classes,  the  grinding  of  the  peasantry,  and  the  expulsion  or  subordi- 
nation of  foreigners — in  a  word,  the  virtues  and  the  vices  of  feudalism 
— was  not  within  their  horizon.  As  for  Saigo,  their  louder,  with  all 
the  Qualities  in  his  character  so  attractive  to  a  Japanese,  he  Jacked 


586  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

genuine  patriotism,  and  probably  aspired  to  be  simply  another  "  man 
on  horseback,"  furnishing  to  history  one  more  illustration  of  the 
Japanese  variety  of  Csesarism.  Had  not  this  ninth  decade  of  the 
nineteenth  century  been  one  of  steam  and  electricity,  instead  of 
armor  and  arrows,  the  Tokio  ministers  might  have  kneeled  at  the 
blood-pit  as  choteki  while  Saigo  dictated  to  Dai  Nippon  as  Sei-i  Tai 
Shogun.  Providence  meant  it  otherwise.  The  old  style  of  Japanese 
Csesarism  was  over. 

After  the  revolution  large  numbers  of  Satsuma  men  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  posts  of  honor  in  the  army,  navy,  and  police  force,  while 
Saigo  and  Shimadzu  Saburo  were  offered  seats  in  the  Cabinet ;  but  one 
after  another  the  liberal  political  measures  were  carried  out  against 
the  sentiments  of  men  steeped  in  the  vices  of  feudalism.  Peace  with 
Corca,  commutation  of  pensions,  the  abolition  of  swords,  and  the 
contempt  cast  upon  the  wearing  of  the  top-knot — as  significant  of  the 
feudal  spirit  to  a  Japanese  of  the  old  school  as  a  Pawnee's  war-lock 
is  to  the  red  rider  of  the  prairie — were  too  much  for  both  Saigo  and 
Shimadzu.  The  former,  retiring  to  Kagoshima,  founded  a  military 
school,  which  was  soon  attended  by  the  flower  of  Satsuma's  youth, 
while  nearly  twenty  thousand  men  in  Satsuma  and  Ozumi,  living  with 
their  faces  to  the  past,  looked  to  Saigo  as  their  master.  The  writer 
cherishes  very  vivid  remembrances  of  walking  unarmed  in  Tokio,  and 
meeting  face  to  face  in  nanow  streets  these  fiery  men  of  the  old 
swashbuckler  spirit.  With  their  hair  shorn  off  their  temples,  a  gen- 
eral wildness  of  expression  in  their  faces,  a  scowl  of  mingled  defiance 
and  contempt  in  their  eyes,  with  their  protruding  swords  and  long, 
red-lacquered  scabbards,  they  seemed  the  incarnation  of  fanatical  pa- 
triotism and  diabolical  pride.  Their  favorite  proverb  was,  "  Though 
the  eagle  be  starving,  he  will  not  eat  grain,"  and  rather  than  earn 
their  living  by  vulgar  trade,  and  accept  the  new  order  of  things,  they 
would  gratify  their  thirst  for  blood.  So  great  was  the  influence 
and  prestige  of  Satsuma,  that  the  impression  became  general  through- 
out the  country  that  the  Government  was  afraid  of  this  one  sullen 
clan.  What  lent  additional  danger  to  the  situation  was,  that  a  large 
arsenal,  equipped  with  steam  machinery  and  full  of  military  stores, 
together  with  two  powder-mills,  capable  of  turning  out  thirty  thou- 
sand pounds  of  powder  daily,  stood  near  the  city  of  Kagoshima. 

Hitherto  all  revolts  against  the  imperial  authority  had  been  minof 
and  sporadic,  and  led  by  men  of  no  special  fitness  for  their  task. 
That  which  we  shall  now  describe  was  organized  by  the  ablest  mill' 


JAPAN  IN  1883.  587 

tary  mind,  backed  by  the  best  fighting  blood  in  the  empire.  Had  the 
Government  remained  inert  much  longer,  the  plans  of  Saigo  would 
have  been  matured,  and  with  ampler  resources  the  issue  might  have 
been  different,  or  the  struggle  prolonged  to  the  ruin  of  the  nation. 

Wisely  the  rulers  in  Tokio  resolved  to  precipitate  the  crisis,  or  at 
least  unmask  Saigo's  designs,  and  a  vessel  was  sent  to  Kagoshima,  in 
January,  1877,  under  Admiral  Kawamura,  to  remove  the  gunpowder. 
An  attack  threatened  upon  it  by  boats  full  of  armed  men  was  avoided 
by  the  admiral,  but  the  arsenals  and  powder-mills  were  seized  Febru- 
ary 1st,  1877,  by  a  body  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  samurai.  At 
this  time  the  mikado  and  most  of  his  Cabinet  were  in  Kioto,  whence 
they  had  come  to  inaugurate  the  opening  of  the  railway  between 
Kobe,  Ozaka,  and  Kioto,  which  was  celebrated  on  the  5th  of  February. 
At  once  recognizing  the  gravity  of  the  situation,  they  dispatched  the 
flower  of  the  army  and  police  to  Kiushiu  in  steamers.  All  doubts  as 
to  Saigo's  personal  participation  in  the  uprising  were  set  at  rest  by 
his  appearing  before  Kumamoto  castle,  to  which  he  laid  siege. 

The  Island  of  the  Nine  Provinces  was  ordered  to  be  placed  under 
martial  law,  and  Saigo,  now  named  Saigo  Takamori,  was  degraded 
from  his  rank  as  Marshal  of  the  Empire,  and  Prince  Arisugawa  no 
Miya  was  appointed  to  the  supreme  command.  Saigo  and  his  gener- 
als, Kirino,  Beppu,  and  Shinohara,  were  branded  as  choteki,  but  Shi- 
madzu  Saburo  remained  loyal.  The  insurgent  ports  were  blockaded,  and 
fresh  levies  of  troops  were  made  and  hurried  forward.  After  a  siege 
of  fifty-five  days,  during  which  Kumamoto  castle  was  nobly  defended 
by  Colonel  Tani  and  his  little  band,  Saigo  was  compelled  to  retreat. 

The  war  soon  became  scattered.  The  imperial  army,  under  Yama- 
gata  and  Kawaji,  marched  in  two  large  divisions  from  Kumamoto 
and  Kagoshima,  intending  to  inclose  the  rebels  in  a  cordon.  After 
many  bloody  skirmishes  and  a  great  battle,  the  two  divisions  effect- 
ed a  junction.  Saigo  Tsukumichi,  a  brother  of  the  rebel  leader,  took 
the  field  in  July,  during  which  month,  owing  to  the  hard  fight- 
ing, six  thousand  of  the  mikado's  troops  were  killed  or  wounded. 
While  the  imperialists  were  largely  raw  levies  from  the  peasantry 
and  middle  classes,  the  rebels  were  in  the  main  the  veteran  samurai 
of  1868.  Even  their  women  fought  under  the  rebel  banner.  De- 
fending themselves  in  some  instances  by  making  a  shield  of  the  light, 
thick  floor-mats,  or  tatami,  the  rebel  swordsmen,  by  a  sudden  charge, 
drew  the  fire  of  the  troops  harmlessly,  and  rushing  on  them  with 
their  swords  butchered  them  easily. 


588  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

On  the  16th  of  August,  Saigo  Takamori's  forces,  reduced  to  less 
than  ten  thousand  men,  were  attacked  at  Nobeoka,  an  old  natural 
stronghold,  and  the  bloody  conflict  resulted  in  a  complete  victory 
for  the  imperialists.  With  a  few  hundred  followers  the  rebel  leaders 
escaped  into  Hiuga,  whence,  on  the  2d  of  September,  they  made  a 
dash  on  Kagoshima,  and  held  it  two  weeks.  Thence  they  were  driven 
out  to  Shiroyama,  a  few  miles  from  the  city.  There,  on  the  24th  of 
September,  Saigo,  Kirino,  and  Murata,  having  less  than  four  hundred 
followers,  were  attacked  by  fifteen  thousand  troops  of  the  imperial 
army,  with  mortars,  cannon,  and  rifles.  Armed  only  with  swords,  the 
little  band  fought,  scorning  quarter.  Many  of  them  committed 
hara-kiri,  and  Saigo  was  beheaded  by  one  of  his  friends,  who  as  a 
favor  performed  this  act  of  kindness.  Not  one  of  the  imperial  sol- 
diers was  killed.  The  three  leaders  and  nearly  three  hundred  of  the 
band  gladly  met  their  death  with  unquailing  courage,  proud  to  die  in 
blood  by  their  own  or  at  their  comrades'  hands,  knowing  no  greater 
glory  than  to  imitate  Kusunoki  and  the  ancient  models  of  that  fero- 
cious military  virtue  of  Old  Japan — Yamato  damashii. 

This  was  the  mightiest  rebellion,  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  the  past, 
against  which  the  mikado's  Government  has  had  to  cope.  It  was  the 
supreme  effort  of  defiance  of  the  forces  of  feudalism  and  misrule 
against  order  and  united  government.  The  Old  met  the  New — rne- 
disevalism  was  pitted  against  the  nineteenth  century,  and  failed. 
"  What  Saigo  could  not  achieve,  no  imitator  will  presume  to  attempt." 
The  rebellion  cost  Japan  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  The  rebel  troops 
of  Satsuma,  Ozumi,  and  Hinga  numbered  39,760,  of  whom  3533  men 
were  killed,  4344  wounded,  and  3123  missing.  Of  the  imperial  army, 
probably  an  equal  number  or  more  suffered  the  fate  of  war,  a  very 
large  proportion  of  wounds  being  cuts  from  the  old  two-handed  sword- 
blades.  In  the  cities  and  villages  of  Japan,  once  quite  free  from  the 
sight  of  legless  and  armless  men  and  the  results  of  gunshot  wounds, 
the  spectacle  of  empty  sleeves,  of  men  hobbling  on  crutches,  and  of 
bullet-scarred  victims  of  gunpowder  wars,  is  no  longer  a  rarity.  In 
the  treatment  of  the  rebels  the  Government  displayed  a  spirit  of  leni- 
ency unknown  to  Asia,  and  worthy  of  the  Christian  name.  Of  the 
38,163  persons  tried  in  Kiushiu,  there  were  295  acquitted,  35,918 
pardoned,  20  fined,  117  degraded  from  the  class  of  samurai,  1793 
condemned  to  imprisonment,  with  hard  labor,  for  terms  varying 
from  thirty  days  to  ten  years.  Twenty  persons  were  decapitated. 

Notwithstanding  the  war  in  the   south,  the   enterprises  of  peace 


JAPAN  IN  1883.  589 

went  on.  The  National  Industrial  Exhibition  at  Uyeno,  on  the  site 
of  the  battle-ground  of  1868  (p.  315),  which  was  closely  modeled 
upon  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  was  opened  August 
21st,  and  closed  November  30th,  and  was  in  every  respect  successful. 
During  this  time  the  cholera  broke  out  in  Japan,  but  by  the  stringent 
enforcement  of  sanitary  measures  its  ravages  were  slight.  Out  of 
11,675  cases,  there  were  but  6297  deaths — a  victory  of  science  no 
less  renowned  than  that  of  the  army  at  Nobeoka. 

The  year  1878  marked  the  first  decade  of  the  mikado's  government 
by  means  of  an  irresponsible  ministry.  The  oath  made  by  His  Maj- 
esty in  Kioto  in  1868  to  form  a  deliberative  assembly  had  never  been 
fully  carried  out.  The  earnest  men  in  office  were  perhaps  too  busy 
to  remind  the  mikado  of  his  promise ;  but  the  equally  earnest  men 
outside,  continually  advancing  in  political  knowledge,  and  seeing  one 
cause  of  the  troubles  that  afflicted  the  nation  in  the  official  ignorance 
of  public  sentiment,  had  lost  no  opportunity  to  make  their  convictions 
known.  By  agitation  in  the  newspapers,  by  memorials  to  the  Govern- 
ment, by  public  lectures,  the  subject  was  pressed.  One  or  two  steps 
had  been  taken.  In  1875  a  Senate  (Genro-in,  or  House  of  Eders) 
had  been  established,  and  an  assembly  of  the  ken  governors  —  the 
creation  of  Kido — held  one  session  in  the  capital,  but  only  one.  Un- 
der the  pretext  of  the  mikado's  journey  north  in  1876,  and  of  the 
war  in  Kiushiu  in  1877,  the  meetings  of  this  body  had  been  adjourn- 
ed, greatly  to  the  irritation  of  those  who  clamored  for  it  as  a  national 
right,  and  complained  both  of  the  excess  of  personal  government,  and 
of  the  flagrant  defiance  of  popular  rights  as  based  on  the  mikado's 
oath. 

Yet,  more  rapidly  than  the  petitioners  dreamed,  the  era  of  personal 
government  was  drawing  to  a  close  ;  and,  as  usual  in  Japanese  politics, 
the  new  era  was  to  be  ushered  in  by  assassination.  Okubo  was  mur- 
dered in  the  public  highway  in  broad  daylight  May  14th,  1878. 

Within  one  year  Japan  lost  her  three  ablest  men — Kido,  Saigo,  and 
Okubo.  Of  all  these,  Okubo,  by  temperament,  training,  and  character, 
was  best  fitted  to  be  the  interpreter  of  foreign  ideas  to  his  colleagues. 
Resolute,  daring,  ambitious,  his  will  was  iron  and  his  action  light- 
ning. His  burning  desire,  to  raise  his  country  from  the  low  level  of 
semi-civilized  states  to  the  height  of  equality  with  the  proudest  na- 
tions of  the  earth,  created  in  him  a  ceaseless  energy,  that  showed  it- 
self in  a  long  list  of  reforms  with  which  his  name  is  inseparably  asso- 
ciated. He  expected  almost  to  see  his  country  regenerated  in  a  life- 


590  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

time.  His  chief  idea  was  the  thorough  unification  of  Japan,  and  the 
extirpation  of  all  vestiges  of  the  feudal  spirit  and  of  sectionalism. 
He  believed  that  a  railway  built  from  Yezo  to  Kiushiu,  even  if  it 
paid  no  dividend  for  a  thousand  years,  would  be  of  incalculable  ad- 
vantage to  the  country  in  unifying  the  people.  In  order  to  hasten 
the  growth  of  a  century  in  a  decade,  he  considered,  perhaps  too 
blindly,  a  strongly  centralized  Government  to  be  of  the  first  necessity, 
and  in  this  opinion  he  was  seconded  by  his  colleagues  of  like  mind.* 

Hence  the  error  of  these  able  men  in  not  estimating  at  its  proper 
value  the  equally  eager  desire  of  men  outside  the  Government  to  take 
part  in  the  tasks  of  civilization.  Kido  had  warned  them  not  to  cling 
too  closely  to  the  traditions  of  paternal  government,  and  the  charge 
began  to  be  made  that  Okubo  was  an  enemy  to  public  discussion  and 
popular  rights.  Again  the  assassin's  sword  cast  its  shadow. 

On  the  evening  of  May  13th,  1878,  having  been  warned  of  the  im- 
pending danger,  Okubo  expressed  before  a  party  of  friends  his  belief 
in  the  decree  of  Heaven,  that  would  protect  him  if  his  work  were  not 
yet  done,  but  which  otherwise  would  permit  his  death,  even  though 
he  were  surrounded  by  soldiers.  His  words  were  prophetic.  He 
spoke  better  than  he  knew.  His  work — the  work  of  personal  gov- 
ernment— was  over ;  the  era  of  representative  government  had  begun. 
The  next  morning,  while  on  his  way  to  the  mikado's  palace,  unarmed, 
he  was  murdered  by  six  assassins,  who  were  said  to  have  been  runa- 
ways from  the  Satsuma  rebellion.  The  mikado  immediately  con- 
ferred upon  his  dead  servant  the  highest  rank,  and  elevated  his  sons 
to  the  nobility.  The  funeral  cortege,  in  which  princes,  nobles,  and 
the  foreign  diplomatic  corps  joined,  was  the  most  imposing  ever  seen 
in  Tokio.f 

*  I  remember,  while  present  at  a  dinner  given  by  the  junior  Prime  Minister, 
Iwakura,  at  his  house  in  Tokio  (July  16th,  1874),  an  American  lady  asked  him 
what  had  impressed  him  most  while  in  America,  and  especially  at  Washington. 
He  answered  at  once,  "The  strength  of  the  central  Government,  which  for  a 
republic  seemed  incredible  to  me." 

t  Okubo's  tall,  arrowy  form,  luxuriant  side-whiskers,  large,  expressive  eyes, 
and  eager,  expectant  bearing,  gave  him  the  appearance  of  a  European  rather  than 
an  Asiatic.  When  in  Tokio  I  enjoyed  frequent  conversations  with  this  distin- 
guished statesman,  the  last  of  which  was  on  the  eve  of  leaving  Japan  for  Ameri- 
ca (July  16th,  1874),  during  which  Okuko  asked  many  questions  about  American 
politics.  When  about  to  leave  I  informed  him  of  my  intention  to  write  a  work 
on  Japan,  explaining  as  best  I  could  the  recent  revolutions,  that  Americans 
might  understand  their  true  nature.  Okubo's  piercing  black  eyes  shone  with 
pleasure  for  a  moment,  but  immediately  a  shadow  passed  over  his  handsome 
face,  and  he  said,  "  Your  purpose  is  an  excellent  one.  I  am  glad,  and  even  grate- 


JAPAN  IN  1883. 

The  long  step  forward  toward  representative  institutions  was  taken 
July  22d,  by  the  proclamation  for  the  calling  of  Provincial  Parlia- 
ments, or  Local  Assemblies,  composed  of  one  delegate  from  each 
district  (kori),  which  were  to  sit  once  a  year  in  each  ken.  Under  the 
supervision  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  these  bodies  are  empow- 
ered to  discuss  questions  of  local  taxation,  and  to  petition  the  central 
government  on  other  matters  of  local  interest.  The  qualifications  for 
members  and  electors  are  limited  by  ability  to  read  and  write,  and 
the  payment  of  an  annual  land-tax  of  at  least  five  dollars.  Each  reg- 
istered voter,  who  must  be  twenty  years  of  age,  must  himself  write 
his  own  name  and  the  name  of  the  candidate  voted  for  on  a  ballot. 
In  this  one  respect  the  Japanese  excels  the  American  method.  The 
foundations  for  further  improvements  were  now  broadly  based. 

To  anticipate,  and  pass  over  details,  except  to  notice  the  constant 
agitation  kept  up  by  new  engines  in  Japanese  politics — the  press,  the 
lecture  platform,  and  the  debating  club — the  mikado,  yielding  to  the 
irresistible  pressure  of  public  opinion,  expanded  and  confirmed  his 
oath  of  1868,  in  the  famous  proclamation  of  October  12th,  1881  : 
"  We  therefore  hereby  declare,  that  We  shall  in  the  23d  year  of  Meiji 
(1890)  establish  a  Parliament,  in  order  to  carry  into  full  effect  the 
determination  We  have  announced  ["  gradually  to  establish  a  consti- 
tutional form  of  government "],  and  We  charge  our  faithful  subjects 
bearing  our  commissions  to  make,  in  the  mean  time,  all  necessary 
preparations  to  that  end.  With  regard  to  the  limitations  upon  the 
Imperial  Prerogative,  and  the  constitution  of  the  Parliament,  We  shall 
decide  hereafter,  and  shall  make  proclamation  in  due  time." 

Three  political  parties  in  Japan  are  now  distinctly  organized,  each 
with  its  newspapers,  clubs,  mass  meetings,  and  peripatetic  lecturers,  or 
"  stump-speakers."  They  are  the  Constitutional  Monarchists,  Liber- 
als, and  Constitutional  Reformers,  with  minor  cliques  representing  va- 
rious phases  of  radicalism  or  conservatism.  Local  societies  cherishing 
socialistic,  communistic,  and  even  nihilist  principles  add  to  the  varie- 
ty of  opinions  now  distinguishable  in  a  once  hermit  nation,  whose 
entire  stock  of  political  knowledge,  a  generation  ago,  consisted  of  the 
two  ideas  of  personal  loyalty  and  hatred  of  foreigners.  As  a  Japa- 
nese writer  remarked  in  the  Jiyu  Shimbun — the  organ  of  the  liber- 
als—  "The  impulse  of  progress  and  innovation  has  invaded  the  na- 

ful,  that  you  intend  to  explain  our  affairs  to  your  countrymen,  but  I  wish  that 
some  one  would  write  an  instantly  popular  book  explaining  to  our  own  people 
the  intentions  of  the  Government.  Too  many  of  them  refuse  to  understand." 


592  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

tion  with  the  strength  of  a  rushing  torrent.  A  totally  new  Japanese 
empire  is  in  process  of  establishment." 

Let  us  now  glance  at  Japan's  foreign  policy  and  state-craft.  With 
the  Restoration  of  1868  was  born  the  desire  to  thoroughly  consolidate 
the  empire,  and  bring  its  outlying  portions  into  closer  relations  to  the 
throne.  Some  students  of  history  will  also  say  that  the  long-slum- 
bering lust  of  conquest  awoke  to  new  vigor.  A  school  of  Japanese 
thinkers  claimed  that  the  fullest  expression  of  nationality  would  in- 
clude not  only  Riu  Kiu,  Yezo,  Saghalin,  and  the  Bonin  Islands,  as 
constituent  portions,  but  also  Corea  and  Eastern  Formosa,  as  tributary 
dependencies — the  last  claim  being  based  on  Japanese  settlement,  as 
well  as  lack  of  Chinese  jurisdiction.  The  solution  of  the  Formosan 
and  Corean  problems  was,  as  we  have  seen,  soon  reached.  The  Bonin 
Islands,  first  held  in  fief  by  Ogasawara,  a  daimio,  in  1593,  and  visited 
by  a  party  of  explorers  from  Nagasaki  in  1675,  who  gave  the  name 
Munin,  or  Bonin  (no  man's),  had  been  neglected  by  the  Japanese  for 
centuries,  though  long  a  noted  resort  of  whalers.  In  1823  the  Amer- 
ican Captain  Coffin,  and  in  1827  Captain  Beechy,  an  Englishman,  vis- 
ited the  islands;  and  Commodore  M.  C.  Perry,  in  1854,  stocked  them 
with  sheep,  goats,  and  cattle.  In  1877  there  were  on  the  islands 
a  motley  company  of  seventy  persons,  chiefly  sailors  from  whaling- 
ships,  Americans,  Englishmen,  and  Hawaiians.  In  1878  the  islands 
were  formally  taken  possession  of  in  the  name  of  the  mikado,  and  a 
local  government  established  by  Japanese  officers.  Coffin  Island  will 
probably  be  the  terminus  of  the  proposed  trans -Pacific  submarine 
cable  from  San  Francisco  to  Yokohama. 

Saghalin  and  the  Kurile  Islands  had  been  the  debatable  ground  be- 
tween the  Japanese  and  Russians  since  1790,  the  subject  of  confer- 
ences and  mutual  remonstrances,  and  the  scene  of  some  border-ruffian- 
ism and  bloodshed.  In  1875  Admiral  Enomoto,  at  St.  Petersburg, 
concluded  a  convention  by  which  Japan  received  all  the  Kurile  Islands, 
or  Chi-shima,  and  Russia  the  whole  of  Saghalin.  The  Kuriles  an: 
rich  sealing  and  fishing  grounds,  and  Saghalin  is  now  a  flourishing 
penal  settlement.  The  empire  of  Japan,  as  seen  on  the  map  of  the 
world,  now  swings,  by  a  long  chain  of  islands  at  either  end,  between 
Kamschatka  and  Formosa. 

The  island  of  Yezo  was  placed  under  the  care  of  a  special  ministry 
— the  Kai  Taku  Shi,  or  Department  for  the  Development  of  Yezo — 
and  so  administered  until  the  year  1882.  Its  mineral  and  agricultural 
wealth,  as  exploited  by  American  scientific  men,  is  noted  in  the  Ap- 


JAPAN  IN  1883.  593 

pendix  to  this  work.  Many  millions  of  dollars  were  spent  in  devel- 
oping Yezo,  under  the  oversight  of  Kuroda  Kiyotaku — the  negotiator 
of  the  Corean  treaty,  and  a  military  leader  of  no  mean  abilities,  as 
shown  in  the  civil  wars  of  1868  and  1877.  On  January  llth,  1882, 
General  Kuroda  was  appointed  Cabinet  Adviser,  and  the  property  and 
industrial  undertakings  of  the  department  were  sold — a  proceeding 
which  provoked  a  furious  controversy  among  the  political  societies. 
On  the  8th  of  February,  Yezo  was  divided  into  the  three  ken,  or  pre- 
fectures, of  Hakodate,  Nemuro,  and  Sapporo,  and  governed  like  the 
rest  of  the  empire. 

Before  examining  into  the  matter  of  Riu  Kiu  let  us  glance  at 
Corea,  with  which  a  more  vigorous  policy  was  determined  upon  im- 
mediately after  the  Satsuma  rebellion.  A  legation  was  established  in 
Seoul,  and  Hanabusa,  one  of  the  ablest  of  Japan's  rising  young  men, 
appointed  minister.  In  the  Coreans  the  Japanese  saw  themselves  as 
they  had  been — hermits  in  the  market-place — and  many  of  the  for- 
eigners' experiences  with  them  before  the  opening  of  their  ports  were 
repeated  in  Corea,  the  Japanese  in  this  case  being  the  aliens  and  re- 
puted aggressors.  A  fresh  treaty  opened  Gensan  (Corean,  Wonsan), 
on  the  north-east  coast,  May  1st,  1880,  and  three  months  later  a  sec- 
ond embassy  of  portly  Corean  men,  in  red,  pink,  green,  violet,  and 
azure,  visited  Tokio,  to  pray  that  the  opening  of  the  port  of  In-chiun, 
near  Seoul,  be  postponed.  The  Japanese  refused  their  request.  The 
Coreans  were  now  divided  into  conservatives  and  radicals,  or  progress- 
ives and  reactionists.  Even  among  the  liberals  some  favored  friend- 
ship with  and  imitation  of  Japan,  while  others  looked  to  China  as 
ally  and  model.  One  view  of  the  Japanese  which  gained  ground  in 
Corea,  especially  in  1881,  was,  that  the  Japanese  were  arbitrary  and 
high-handed  in  their  dealing,  and  an  Exclusion-of-the-Japanese  Party 
began  to  form.  Evidently  the  same  state  of  feeling  characteristic  of 
Old  Japan  existed  in  Corea,  in  which  all  the  elements  of  a  political 
explosion  lay  ready.  To  blind  hatred  of  all  foreigners  there  was 
added  a  conservative  bigotry  willing  to  fan  popular  passions  and  su- 
perstition into  a  flame,  while  of  two  great  feudal  houses  in  bitter 
hostility  to  each  other,  one  was  in,  and  the  other  out  of  power. 

A  third  party,  or  embassy,  composed  of  Corean  liberals  anxious  to 
study  civilization  and  progress  in  the  neighbor-country,  came  to  Japan 
in  1881.  At  this  time  it  was  uncertain  whether  the  reactionists  or 
progressives  would  sway  the  policy  of  the  Seoul  government.  The 
young  king,  who  had  come  to  the  throne  in  1873,  was  backed  in 


594  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

his  enlightened  policy  by  his  consort  and  her  relatives,  the  king's 
ministers ;  but  arrayed  against  them  were  the  Tai-wen  Kun,  the  late 
regent,  and  father  of  the  king,  with  his  feudal  retainers,  and  the  con- 
servative and  reactionary  literati  who  looked  to  him  as  their  exponent 
and  guide.  As  this  old  man  had  persecuted  the  Christians  and 
driven  off  the  French  in  1866,  and  the  Americans  in  1871,  and  was 
still  full  of  physical  and  mental  vigor,  he  was  a  hopeful  leader.  The 
jealousy  and  bitterness  between  his  family  (Ni)  and  that  of  the 
queen's  (Min)  kept  increasing  daily.  (See  "  Corea,  the  Hermit  Na- 
tion.") 

The  treaty  with  the  United  States  was  made  May  9th,  1882,  at  In- 
chiun,  and  soon  after  conventions  were  signed  with  Great  Britain  and 
other  European  nations.  Drought  prevailed  throughout  the  country, 
and  the  bigoted  conservatives  wrought  upon  the  superstitions  of  the 
masses  by  ascribing  the  lack  of  rain  to  the  anger  of  the  spirits,  be- 
cause treaties  had  been  made  with  foreigners.  The  soldiery  of  the 
capital,  led  chiefly  by  officers  of  the  house  of  Ni,  were  on  the  verge 
of  mutiny  because  of  arrears  of  pay.  They  were  further  exasperated 
because,  while  their  rations  of  rice  were  stopped,  or  at  least  curtailed, 
the  foreigners  (Japanese)  had  plenty.  These  apparently  trifling 
causes,  acting  at  a  time  when  the  relations  of  the  two  noble  houses 
of  Min  and  Ni  (the  queen's  and  the  ex-regent's,  respectively)  were  so 
strained,  provoked  a  bloody  riot  at  Seoul,  July  23d,  1882.  The  pop- 
ulace and  soldiery  attacked  the  rice-granaries,  the  Japanese  legation, 
the  royal  palace,  and  the  barracks,  at  which  a  picked  force  of  native 
military  were  being  drilled  by  a  Japanese  lieutenant.  Four  of  the 
court  ministers  and  a  number  of  minor  Corean  officers  were  slain. 
The  Japanese,  after  holding  the  mob  at  bay  for  over  seven  hours, 
rushed  out  of  their  burning  quarters,  charged  the  crowd,  and  made  a 
dash  for  the  royal  palace.  Finding  no  help  there,  they  crossed  the 
river  and  marched  to  In-chiun.  While  asleep  in  the  governor's  house 
they  were  again  attacked,  and  started  for  the  sea-shore.  After  some 
hours  spent  on  the  water  they  were  rescued  by  the  British  survey- 
ship  Flying  Fish.  There  were  but  twenty-six  survivors  out  of  about 
forty  persons.  Seoul  and  the  Corean  Government  were  now  under 
the  control  of  the  Tai-wen  Kun  and  his  mob. 

Immediate  and  thorough  preparations  for  war  were  made  in  Japan, 
and  Hanabusa,  after  audience  with  the  mikado  in  Tokio,  was  sent 
back  to  Seoul,  which  he  entered  August  16th,  with  an  escort  of  five 
hundred  men.  After  delays  and  a  menace  of  war  ample  apologies 


JAPAN  IN  1883.  595 

were  made,  and  the  demands  of  Japan  were  acceded  to.  Corca 
agreed  to  pay  $50,000  to  the  families  of  the  slain  and  $500,000  to 
the  Japanese  government,  to  dispatch  an  embassy  to  Tokio  to  offer 
apologies,  to  allow  an  armed  escort  in  Seoul,  and  to  extend  farther 
privileges  to  Japanese  officers  and  residents  in  Corea.  Hanabusa  was 
soon  after  promoted  to  be  minister  to  Russia.  A  large  deputation  of 
Coreans  visited  Tokio  in  October,  making  a  long  stay,  and  receiving 
much  attention  from  foreigners  as  well  as  natives. 

China's  action  after  the  Corean  riot  and  usurpation  of  Tai-wen 
Kun  was  remarkable  and  unjustifiable.  Dispatching  a  large  fleet, 
with  several  thousand  soldiers,  to  the  peninsula,  the  capital  was  oc- 
cupied, and  the  king  restored  to  power.  Tai-wen  Kun,  entrapped  on 
board  a  Chinese  gun-boat,  was  kidnapped  and  taken  to  China,  to  live 
imprisoned  as  an  exile.  This  object  of  high-handed  assumption  of 
power  in  a  really  independent  state,  and  only  nominally  tributary,  was 
evidently  to  checkmate  the  suspected  designs  of  Japan,  to  assert  Chi- 
nese supremacy,  and  to  warn  her  ambitious  neighbor  that  a  third 
affair,  like  those  of  Formosa  and  Riu  Kiu,  was  no  longer  possible. 

This  warlike  policy  of  China  is  but  an  indication  of  the  state  of 
feeling  between  the  rival  nations,  which  must  at  some  future  day 
eventuate  in  war.  Ever  since  Japan's  full  assumption  of  sovereignty 
over  Riu  Kiu,  the  relations  between  China  and  Japan  have  been 
strained.  At  this  little  island-kingdom,  noted  alike  for  its  sugar 
and  its  peaceful  character,  let  us  now  glance. 

On  a  Mercator  map  of  the  Western  Pacific,  looked  at  from  the  east, 
the  mikado's  empire  (cutting  off  Yezo)  resembles  a  silk-worm  erect, 
and  spinning  from  its  head  (Kiushiu)  a  thread  of  islands  which  are 
strung  along  southwardly  to  Formosa.  To  this  lengthened  cord  the 
name  Okinawa  (long  rope)  was  very  anciently  given.  The  name — 
which  the  Japanese  pronounce  Riu  Kiu,  the  Chinese  Liu  Kiu,  and  the 
islanders  Loo  Choo,  which  means  sleeping  dragon — well  describes  this 
land  of  perpetual  afternoon.  The  people,  numbering  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand — of  whom  as  many  as  one-tenth  lived  on  the 
public  treasury — are  true  Japanese  in  origin,  language,  and  dynasty, 
their  first  historical  rulers  having  been  descendants  of  the  renowned 
Tametomo.  As,  however,  the  Riu  Kiuans — calling  China  their  father, 
and  Japan  their  mother — sent  tribute  in  junks  to  both  countries,  cul- 
tivated religious,  literary,  and  friendly  relations  with  either,  both  rival 
empires  claimed  the  little  kingdom.  So  long  as  neither  nation  as- 
serted supreme  right  all  was  well.  The  Ming  dynasty  had  given  the 


596  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

Riu  Kin  king  a  silver  seal,  and  to  his  kingdom  a  name  signifying 
"  hanging-balls,"  intimating  that  the  thirty-six  islands  of  his  petty 
domain  were  a  fringe  of  tassels  upon  the  skirts  of  China's  robe. 
Ilideyoshi  once  demanded  that  the  islanders  should  pay  tribute  only 
to  Japan ;  but  the  Corcan  war  coming  on,  he  had  never  enforced  his 
demand.  In  1609  lyehisa,  the  daimio  of  Satsuma,  conquered  the 
islands,  and  secured  their  tributary  allegiance  to  his  house  and  to  the 
shogun.  China,  however,  knew  nothing  of  this  act  of  Japan  until 
after  it  was  over;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  docs  any  restriction  seem 
to  have  been  laid  on  the  Riu  Kiuans  sending  an  annual  tribute  junk 
to  Ningpo,  China.  Fifteen  embassies  from  Riu  Kiu  visited  Yedo,  for 
investiture  of  the  island-king,  or  to  congratulate  the  shoguns  upon 
their  accession  to  power,  between  1611  and  1850;  but  the  same  pol- 
icy was  pursued  toward  China  also.  Both  Corea  and  Riu  Kiu  were 
political  Issachars  bowing  down  between  two  burdens  and  two  mas- 
ters. After  the  revolution  of  1868  Riu  Kiu  was  made  a  han  of  the 
Japanese  empire,  and  the  king  acknowledged  the  mikado  as  his  suze- 
rain. When,  for  the  sake  of  the  Riu  Kiuans  wrecked  and  murdered 
on  Formosa,  the  Japanese  sent  an  expedition  to  chastise  the  Botan 
savages,  they  took  a  step  forward,  and  reducing  the  king  to  the  status 
of  a  retired  daiinio,  erected  Riu  Kiu  into  a  ken,  or  prefecture,  like 
the  other  parts  of  the  empire.  To  this  the  Riu  Kiuans  did  not  all 
agree,  and  continuing  to  send  a  "junk  to  Ningpo,  acted  as  suppliants 
for  China's  mercy;  while  the  Peking  government  considered  that 
Japan  was  feloniously  cutting  off  the  fringes  of  China's  robe. 

Under  Japan's  rule  the  sleepy  dragon  is  waking  up.  Trade  with 
Corea  has  begun,  and  with  the  other  ports  of  Japan  increased ;  and 
old  customs  are  giving  way  to  more  enlightened  methods  of  life.  Yet 
still  the  irritation  between  Japan  and  China  continues.  China  having 
already  a  large  naval  force  and  a  numerous  soldiery,  the  questions  of 
increasing  the  number  of  costly  iron-clad  war  vessels,  of  building  new 
forts,  of  enlarging  the  army,  and  of  levying  taxes  in  order  to  pro- 
vide the  sinews  of  war,  have  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Cabinet  in 
Tokio  during  the  past  year.  A  hundred  vessels  of  war  and  a  stand- 
ing army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men  are  not  considered  too  many 
in  case  of  war  with  China ;  but  to  provide  and  maintain  such  a  force 
would  require  vastly  augmented  resources,  such  as  Japan,  in  this  cen- 
tury at  least,  will  never  possess,  her  estimated  total  revenue  for  1883 
being  but  $66,814,122,  of  which  every  dollar  is  required.  Forty  ships 
and  forty  thousand  soldiers  are  thought  to  be  the  minimum  for  safety 


JAPAN  IN  1883.  597 

in  defense.  Such  enlargement  of  war  material  means,  unfortunately, 
curtailment  in  the  amount  devoted  to  education.  *  A  national  debt  of 
$349,771,176  (May  31st,  1882)  acts  as  a  wholesome  check  upon  too 
rapid  expenditure.  A  revision  of  the  treaties  with  foreign  nations 
which  will  secure  to  Japan  the  rights  of  a  sorereign  state,  especially 
the  power,  now  wrongfully  denied  her,  of  regulating  her  own  tariff, 
may  enable  her  to  swell  her  revenue,  and  thus  in  some  measure  pro- 
•vide  for  that  collision  with  her  giant  neighbor  which  seems  inevitable. 

Christianity  in  three  forms,  Greek,  Roman,  and  Reformed,  is  now 
a  potent  factor  in  the  development  of  the  nation.  At  the  opening 
of  the  ports,  in  1859,  the  Roman  Catholics,  with  the  advantage  of  his- 
toric continuity,  began  their  labors  at  Yokohama  and  Nagasaki.  The 
Holy  Synod  of  Russia,  five  Protestant  missionary  societies  —  four 
American  and  one  English  —  sent  their  agents  to  Japan.  For  ten 
years  they  were  unable  to  make  many  disciples,  and  none  openly,  on 
account  of  the  jealous  hostility  of  the  Japanese  Government.  The 
old  anti-Christian  edicts  were  enforced,  and  a  native  became  a  disciple 
of  Jesus  at  the  risk  of  his  life.  Some  of  the  first  teachers  of  the  for- 
eigners were  thrown  into  prison,  and  several  thousand  villagers  from 
Urakami,  near  Nagasaki,  were  deported  to  northern  provinces,  away 
from  the  influence  of  their  French  teachers.  Meanwhile  the  language 
was  being  mastered,  and  the  work  of  healing,  teaching,  and  transla- 
tion engaged  in.  The  first  Protestant  church  in  Japan  was  organized 
in  Japan  by  the  Rev.  J.  II.  Ballagh,  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
America.  March  10th,  1872;  the  edifice,  costing  $6000,  standing  on 
part  of  the  Perry  treaty  ground.  Other  churches  were  soon  organ- 
ized, the  first  in  Tokio,  and  the  fourth  in  Japan,  being  on  the  3d  of 
September,  1873.  During  this  year  the  anti-Christian  edicts  were 
removed,  and  Christian  churches  established  in  the  interior,  since 
which  time  the  Christians  have  worshiped  unmolested.  Most  of  the 
important  evangelical  societies  in  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
are  now  represented  in  the  missionary  work  in  Japan,  and  Sunday- 
schools,  theological  seminaries,  native  Christian  associations,  the  press, 
Christian  literature,  Bible  and  tract  distribution,  public  discussions, 
and  open-air  meetings  are  among  the  varied  means  used  for  the  diffu- 
sion of  Gospel  truths. 

To  Protestant  missionaries  belongs  the  honor  of  having  translated 
the  Bible  into  Japanese.  Eighty  years  of  Roman  Christianity  in  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  failed  to  give  the  people  of  Japan 
the  Scriptures  in  their  own  tongue.  Gutzlaff,  in  1838,  and  S.  Wells 


598  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

Williams,  in  1839,  at  Singapore,  made  the  first  attempts,  which,  aftei 
several  tentative  translations  by  Brown,  Verbeck,  Hepburn,  Green, 
and  others,  ripened  in  the  fruit  of  a  complete  Japanese  New  Testa- 
ment in  the  high  middle  style  of  the  language.  This  event  of  na- 
tional importance  was  celebrated  by  a  public  meeting  of  the  mission- 
aries and  native  pastors  in  Tokio,  April  19th,  1880.  Many  thousands 
of  copies  have  been  sold  throughout  the  empire,  and  the  Bible  has 
now  millions  of  readers.  There  are  now  probably  forty  thousand 
nominal  Christians  among  the  mikado's  subjects.  Shinto  does  not 
seem  to  flourish  in  the  air  of  the  nineteenth  century,  though  Bud- 
dhism, especially  the  "  Reformed  "  or  Shin-shiu  sect,  which  claims  ten 
millions  of  adherents,  is  vigorously  contesting  with  Christianity  the 
possession  of  Japan. 

The  wondrous  assimilation  of  the  salient  features  of  modern  civil- 
ization by  the  Japanese  has  smoothed  the  path  for  success  in  Chris- 
tian missionary  labor  which  is  marvelous.  The  literary  hostility 
to  Christianity  was  not  at  first  great,  nor  is  it  yet  of  a  character  to 
inspire  respect  for  the  Japanese  intellect.  Nearly  all  the  ammuni- 
tion of  the  priests,  pagans,  and  opponents  of  the  new  faith  is  fur- 
nished by  translation  from  Occidental  sources.  The  literary,  med- 
ical, and  pedagogic  work  of  the  missionaries  has  borne  a  mighty 
harvest  of  good  to  the  nation  at  large,  while  the  friendly  rivalry 
between  the  common  schools  and  the  missionary  educational  insti- 
tutions is  most  wholesome.  The  influences  of  the  religion  of  Jesus 
are  penetrating  deeply  into  the  social  life  of  the  people,  and  rooting 
themselves  into  heart  and  intellect  alike.  Licentiousness,  intemper- 
ance, and  lying  are  the  moral  cancers  of  the  national  character;  but 
the  ideals  of  Jesus  are  seen  by  an  increasing  number  of  the  people  to 
be  the  best  inspiration  to  individual  and  national  progress. 


JAPAN  IN  1886.  599 


II. 

JAPAN  IN  1886. 

THE  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-six,  the  nine- 
teenth of  the  Restoration,  and  of  the  reign  of  Mutsuhito,  the  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-third  mikado  of  Japan,  finds  the  empire  at  peace,  and 
in  full  career  of  progress.  The  emperor,  now  thirty -three  years  of  age, 
is  surrounded  with  a  new  generation  of  advisers.  The  old  heroes  and 
counsellors  of  '68  have  mostly  passed  away.  The  old  nobilities — of 
court  and  of  land — have  shrunk  to  a  status  almost  wholly  non-polit- 
ical. With  new  men  and  times  come  new  measures  and  problems. 

Notable  among  those  of  national  fame  who  have  "  changed  their 
world"  have  been  the  junior  premier  Iwakura  Tomomi,  a  noble  of 
highest  rank,  and  the  elder  prince  Arisugawa.  At  an  age  still 
counted  as  mid-life  by  European  statesmen,  Iwakura  sank  in  the 
plenitude  of  his  influence,  dying  of  an  hereditary  disease  July  20, 
1883.  Born  in  Kioto  in  1825,  of  most  illustrious  ancestry,  whose 
blood  flowed  from  imperial  and  Minamoto  stock,  Iwakura  was  made 
personal  attendant  upon  the  Mikado  Komei  at  the  age  of  twenty.  Ed- 
ucated in  traditions  of  antagonism  to  the  Yedo  system,  he  was,  in 
1801,  on  account  of  his  opposition  to  the  marriage  of  an  imperial 
princess  to  a  Tokugawa,  forced  into  exile.  Living  in  retirement  and 
with  shorn  head  during  several  years,  he  was  yet  in  active  communi- 
cation with  the  leaders  of  the  impending  crisis;  and  in  1868,  to  the 
surprise  of  the  Yedo  authorities,  he  emerged  at  the  head  and  front  of 
the  new  movement.  Until  the  age  of  forty-three  he  had  never  seen 
foreigners,  but  on  his  first  interview  with  Sir  Harry  Parkes  was  con- 
verted to  belief  in  their  equality,  humanity,  and  abilities.  Heartily 
accepting  the  principles  of  western  civilization,  he  sent  his  three  sons 
to  study  under  Guido  F.  Verbeck,  at  Nagasaki,  and  thence  to  the 
United  States.  For  fifteen  years  he  was  the  close  counsellor  of  the 
young  mikado,  who  in  1871  personally  visited  his  subject,  and  said, 
"  It  is  to  you,  under  the  favor  of  the  gods,  that  we  owe  the  flourish- 
ing condition  of  the  empire."  It  was  Iwakura  who,  when  opportunity 
like  a  flame  softened  the  national  heart  as  wax,  bade  the  mikado  with 
his  divine  prestige  stamp  it,  and  give  to  the  fusing  mass  the  express 


600  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

image  of  a  nation  by  the  abolition  of  feudalism.  Utterly  fearless  of 
all  personal  consequences,  this  foremost  man  among  the  nobility 
pressed  to  their  conclusion  the  results  of  the  revolution  during  his 
twelve  years  of  incessant  toil.  Emerging  scathless  from  repeated  at- 
tempts upon  his  life,  he  died  quietly  in  his  bed.  Buried  with  all  pos- 
sible funereal  pomp,  he  received  from  the  mikado  the  posthumous  title 
of  Dai  Jo  Dai  Jin.  Like  Moses,  having  led  a  nation  from  narrow  hori- 
zons to  a  higher  outlook,  he  died  at  the  right  time.  His  death,  as  we 
shall  see,  paved  the  way  for  a  closer  union  of  the  throne  and  the  peo- 
ple. No  successor  to  Iwakura — well  named  "Rock-throne" — could  be 
found,  while  from  below  the  new  man  for  the  new  work  was  at  hand. 

Arisugawa  Takahito  no  Miya,  a  prince  of  the  blood  and  of  the  high- 
est rank,  father  of  the  military  leader  who  bore  the  imperial  brocade 
banner  in  1868,  died  January  24,  1886.  Among  others  who  have 
bowed  to  the  harvest  of  death  were  many  of  the  old  daimios,  the 
illustrious  merchant  Godai,  of  Ozaka,  several  female  children  of  the 
mikado,  and  so  many  promising  young  men  who  had  entered  or  were 
anticipating  public  life,  as  to  suggest  painfully  the  weakness  of  the 
Japanese  physique.  The  percentage  of  deaths  among  the  students 
abroad  and  at  home  is  a  constant  source  of  sorrow  and  disappoint- 
ment. Of  one  hundred  youths  who  begin  their  preparatory  studies 
in  the  foreign  language  schools,  not  over  five  win  their  degrees  at  the 
Tokio  University,  over  forty  dropping  out  on  account  of  disease  or 
weakness.* 

Other  causes  than  the  knock  of  Pallida  Mors  have  operated  in  the 
retirement  from  public  view  of  men  once  prominent.  The  tendency 
of  Japanese  politics,  in  its  evolution  towards  the  goal  of  1890,  has 
been  to  eliminate  entirely  the  old  nobility,  and  to  advance  to  power 
men  for  the  time  bred  in  the  lower  social  ranks.  The  composite  gov- 
ernment which  rose  on  the  ruins  of  the  dual  system  in  1868  was 
founded  on  the  theory  of  a  union  of  the  throne  with  the  people,  the 
only  intermediary  being  the  kuge,  or  court  nobles.  This  took  the 
form  of  a  triple  premiership  of  Dai-jins;  Sanjo  and  Iwakura  filling 
two  of  the  three  highest  offices,  while  the  details  of  administration 
were  carried  on  by  the  ministers,  whc:  were  men  of  the  samurai  class. 
Gradually  the  forces  of  intellect,  of  natural  ability,  and  of  education 

*  Ke"iki,  "the  last  tycoon,"  was  reported  to  have  died  in  1884.  This  was  a 
mistake.  In  1890  we  read  of  his  visiting  the  hot  springs  of  Itami.  On  the  14th 
of  April,  1889,  a  monument  to  his  retainers  slain  in  the  civil  war  of  1808-70  waa 
unveiled  at  Uy^no,  Tokio. 


JAPAN  IN  1886.  601 

manifested  themselves,  driving  out  inferior  men,  unable  to  cope  with 
the  new  problems  of  statecraft  or  to  resist  the  pressure  from  be- 
low, and  elevating  to  influential  position  the  able  men  of  low  rank. 
These  demanded  not  only  office  and  hearing,  but  tangible  recognition, 
in  the  form  of  social  advancement,  from  the  throne  itself.  In  response 
to  public  opinion  the  mikado  issued  an  edict  dated  June  6,  1884, 
which  readjusted  the  system  of  nobility.  In  the  newly-created  orders 
of  princes,  marquises,  counts,  viscounts,  and  barons,  were  found  many 
men  once  in  the  class  of  gentry  only,  who  had  performed  distin- 
guished services  on  behalf  of  their  country.  Nearly  three  hundred 
persons  in  the  aristocracy  of  intellect  were  thus  ennobled  on  the  basis 
of  merit.  Orders  and  decorations  have  also  been  distributed  with  lav- 
ish hand  to  both  natives  and  foreigners.  It  is  expected  that  the 
nobles  will  furnish  the  personnel  of  the  Upper  House  of  Lords  or 
Notables  for  the  Parliament  of  1890. 

To  this  goal  the  forces  of  Japanese  politics  have  kept  steadily  mov- 
ing, though  with  many  fluctuations  and  vicissitudes,  among  which 
have  been  the  rise  and  fall  of  parties,  plottings,  riots,  dynamite,  sus- 
picion, imprisonments,  trials,  release  or  executions.  For  various  rea- 
sons the  Liberal  party  was  dissolved  in  October,  1884. 

Within  the  Government  circles  there  had  been  occasional  shiftings 
of  office  without  radical  change;  but  a  movement  of  almost  revolu- 
tionary import  took  place  at  the  end  of  1885.  The  death  of  Iwakura, 
and  the  apparently  approaching  senility  of  Sanjo,  gave  the  opportu- 
nity ;  while  necessity,  in  view  of  the  strides  of  time  that  wait  for  no 
man,  forced  the  issue.  With  the  unexpected  suddenness  of  an  earth- 
quake shock,  every  member  of  the  old  court  party  was  retired  from 
active  office,  while  young  men  educated  abroad — Ito,  Inouye,  Mori, 
Enomoto — stepped  into  the  highest  offices. 

By  recommendation  (on  paper  at  least)  of  Sanjo,  and  by  decree  of 
the  mikado,  December  22,  1885,  the  triple  premiership,  the  privy 
council,  and  the  ministries  as  then  constituted  were  abolished.  In 
their  place  a  cabinet  was  established,  at  the  head  of  which  was  a  min- 
ister-president of  state.  The  old  boards  of  government,  with  a  new 
one  of  communications  (railways,  telegraphs,  mails),  were  reorgan- 
ized in  such  a  way  as  to  discharge  from  public  employ  about  eight 
thousand  office-holders.  The  new  crystallization  of  political  forces  is 
in  the  interest  of  democracy  and  economy,  as  well  as  of  executive  uni- 
formity and  vigor.  All  in  the  new  cabinet  are  men  of  modern  ideas, 
culture,  and  conviction,  while  the  Asiatic  features  of  the  Government 


G02  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

have  retired  into  shadow.  The  Mikado  Mutetihito  now  meets  his 
ministers  in  council,  deliberates  with  them,  and  must  share  personal  re- 
sponsibility. The  throne,  by  having  several  courses  of  intermediaries 
quietly  and  safely  removed,  is  more  nearly  "  broad-based  upon  the 
people's  will."  It  may  be  that  the  future  parliament  will  check  any 
undue  tendency  in  the  ministry  to  bureauocracy.  As  yet  it  is  uncer- 
tain whether  the  form  of  representative  government  in  Japan  will 
most  closely  approach  the  British  or  the  Prussian  model.  It  will  be 
a  bitter  disappointment  to  the  liberal  patriots  if  the  ministry  is  to  be 
made  responsible  to  the  sovereign  and  not  to  the  parliament. 

The  temptations  which  beset  Asiatic  nations  in  adopting  the  salient 
features  of  modern  civilization  to  embark  upon  costly  schemes  of  re- 
form and  equipment  are  great,  and  the  possible  dangers  are  greater. 
The  Japanese  Government  seems  wisely  anxious  to  study  economy  and 
avoid  undue  expenditure.  Besides  reducing  the  once  abnormal  force 
of  office-holders,  western  methods  of  book-keeping  have  been  intro- 
duced into  the  public  service,  and  the  financial  estimates  for  each 
year  are  reduced  to  the  lowest  point.  The  total  national  revenue 
for  the  nineteenth  fiscal  year  of  Meiji  was  $74,695,415,  and  the 
expenditure  was  $74,689,014.  About  $20,000,000  is  applied  year- 
ly to  the  extinguishing  of  the  national  debt,  which  in  1885  was 
$245,427,329. 

The  customs  returns  of  trade  since  1868,  published  in  July,  1886, 
shows  that  the  foreign  commerce  of  Japan  is  healthfully  developing. 
In  1869  the  exports  were  less  than  $13,000,000,  but  during  each  of 
the  last  five  years  they  have  not  fallen  below  $30,000,000.  The  im- 
ports in  1868  were  valued  at  ten  and  a  half,  in  1880  at  thirty-six,  and 
in  1885  at  twenty-eight  millions  of  dollars.  The  excess  of  imports 
over  exports  during  eighteen  years  of  foreign  trade  amounts  to  fifty- 
one  millions.  Great  Britain  has  been  the  largest  importer,  but  her 
imports  have  fallen  from  nineteen  millions  in  1880  to  twelve  millions 
in  1885.  The  United  States  takes  most  of  the  silk  and  tea  of  Japan, 
and  returns  machinery  and  oil,  two-thirds  of  the  exports  to  Japan  being 
in  petroleum.  Japan's  silk  crop,  in  all  its  products,  is  valued  at  eigh- 
teen and  a  half  millions  of  dollars,  and  her  tea  crop  at  over  thirty-five 
millions  of  pounds.  While  the  yield  of  tea  has  increased  threefold 
since  1868,  the  price  has  fallen  one-half.  In  the  manufacture  and 
export  of  art-products  there  lias  been  a  marked  increase.  This  is 
manifested  not  only  in  the  customs  returns,  but  in  the  houses,  gar- 
dens, and  museums  of  Europe  and  America.  Japan  is  already  recog- 


JAPAN  IN  1886.  603 

nized  as  "  the  land  of  dainty  decoration,"  and  her  art  has  added  new 
elements  of  delight  and  surprise  to  the  world's  store. 

The  social  revolution  which  has  affected  all  classes  in  the  mikado's 
empire  has  given  rise  to  new  industries  and  handicrafts.  The  concen- 
tration of  capital,  the  improvement  of  labor,  and  the  elevation  of  the 
working-classes  through  the  influence  of  schools  and  the  cheapening 
of  justice,  have  changed  the  entire  industrial  system.  The  pitiful  tales 
of  the  laborer's  wrongs,  as  told  in  Mitford's  "  Tales  of  Old  Japan," 
seem  now  mythical.  The  introduction  of  machinery  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  large  arsenals,  founderies,  mills,  steamship  and  railway 
companies,  seem  to  prove  that  Japan  is  not  only  providing  for  her 
own  needs,  but  is  developing  her  resources  in  order  to  enter  as  a  com- 
petitor for  the  manufacturing  supremacy  among  Asiatic  nations. 
Fully  equipped  railroads,  men-of-war,  steam  and  sailing  vessels,  houses 
in  European  style,  the  product  of  native  brain  and  muscle,  are  no 
longer  curiosities.  Patents  are  issued,  inventions  are  encouraged,  and 
museums  are  established  in  most  of  the  large  cities.  In  exhibitions 
of  industry  held  in  the  provinces  and  capital,  art,  mechanical  ingenu- 
ity, trades,  and  business  are  stimulated  to  higher  excellence.  In  the 
expositions  held  in  Europe,  America,  Australia,  and  India,  the  artistic 
ability,  manual  dexterity,  and  inventive  genius  of  the  Japanese  have 
won  abundant  recognition.  An  exhibition  of  Asiatic  products  is  to 
be  held  at  Uyeno,  in  Tokio,  in  1890. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the  opening  of  Japan  to  the  world  was 
coincident  with  the  age  of  iron,  steel,  steam,  and  electricity.  The  tel- 
egraph, introduced  in  1869,  has  become  a  net-work  of  fifteen  thousand 
miles  of  wire.  Four  cables  connect  the  island  empire  to  the  Asian 
main-land,  two  making  landfall  at  Vladivostok,  one  at  Fnsan  in  Corea, 
and  one  at  Shanghai  in  China.  The  telephone  and  the  electric  light 
are  seen  in  the  large  cities.  Of  railways  there  were,  in  the  summer  of 
1885,  265  miles  open,  271  miles  in  course  of  construction,  and  543 
miles  in  contemplation.  Except  the  railway  from  Sapporo  to  Poronai 
in  Yezo,  these  roads  are  constructed  and  equipped  on  the  British 
model.  Most  of  the  survey,  engineering,  and  constructive  work,  and 
all  of  the  mechanical  labor  on  the  new  roads,  are  done  by  natives.  The 
trains,  engines,  and  offices  are  worked  by  Japanese,  and  the  wood  and 
lighter  metal  portions  are  made  at  home,  the  heavy  castings,  engines, 
and  rails  being  brought  from  Great  Britain.  The  Japan  Mail  Shipping 
Company  employs  a  large  fleet  of  steamships  and  sailing-vessels  in 
their  coasting  trade  and  passenger  lines  to  China,  Corea,  and  the  island 


604  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

portions  of  the  empire.  In  1885  the  postal  department  forwarded 
nearly  one  hundred  million  letters  and  packages. 

The  return,  in  1884,  of  the  principal  of  the  Shimonoseki  Indemnity, 
so  long  unjustly  withheld  by  the  United  States  from  Japan,  has  been 
of  some  assistance  in  carrying  out  her  schemes  of  national  improve- 
ment. Besides  postal  and  money-order  arrangement  with  the  United 
States,  a  treaty  of  extradition  was  ratified  by  the  Senate  June  21, 
1886.  This  important  diplomatic  action  places  Japan,  so  far  as  the 
American  Government  is  concerned,  upon  the  same  footing  as  that  of 
the  most  enlightened  nations  in  Europe.  In  these  two  acts  the  Unit- 
ed States  leads  the  way  in  encouragement  and  recognition  of  Japan's 
purpose  to  assimilate  her  civilization  to  that  of  Christendom. 

Ever  since  the  American  flag  was  first  carried  round  the  world  by 
Major  Shaw,  of  the  United  States  First  Artillery,  the  part  played  by 
our  country  towards  Asiatic  nations  has  been  in  the  main  kindly, 
honorable,  and  unselfish.  In  the  renovation  of  Japan  this  disposition 
to  assist  and  not  to  retard  her  progress  has  been  manifest.  In  1878, 
in  Tokio,  the  Japanese  themselves,  in  their  own  language  and  way, 
celebrated,  with  congratulations  and  rejoicing,  the  quarter-century  of 
the  arrival  of  Commodore  M.  C.  Perry  in  Yedo  bay.*  Our  American 
teachers,  missionaries,  and  scientific  men  in  active  labors  on  the  soil ; 
our  ministers  in  their  diplomacy  ;  our  hospitable  schools,  homes,  and 
friends  in  need  welcoming  the  students  ;f  our  Government  in  treaties, 
have  all  shown  a  desire  to  assist  Japan  which  is  as  sincere  as  it  is 
morally  beautiful.  The  standard  political  literature  of  the  United 
States,  translated  and  widely  read,  has  done  much  to  educate  Japanese 


*  See  the  "Life  of  Matthew  Calbraith  Perry,  a  Typical  American  Naval  Offi- 
cer," by  the  author  of  this  work. 

t  The  subject  of  the  Japanese  students  abroad,  how  they  came  first  to  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.,  with  personal  notes,  statistics,  etc.,  has  been  treated  by  the  au- 
thor in  a  pamphlet  published  in  1886  by  the  Rutgers  College  Alumni  Association. 
During  the  civil  war  in  Japan  the  Japanese  students  were  unable  to  receive  any 
remittances.  A  company  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  in  the  Reformed  [Dutch] 
Church  was  formed  to  loan  them  money  without  regard  to  future  repayment. 
This  generous  behavior  was  warmly  appreciated  by  the  mikado's  government. 
On  the  eve  of  their  departure  from  the  United  States,  in  1872,  the  ambassadors 
Iwakura  and  Okubo,  in  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  John  Mason  Ferris,  D.D.,  wrote: 
"The  generous  conduct  exhibited  by  yourself  and  other  gentlemen  in  this  in- 
stance, as  well  as  in  all  matters  of  educational  interest  pertaining  to  the  Japanese 
youth,  will  do  more  to  correct  this  impression  [that  "foreign  nations  did  not  en- 
tertain kindly  feelings  toward  our  people"],  and  will  do  more  to  cement  the 
friendly  relations  of  the  two  countries,  than  all  other  influences  combined." 


JAPAN  IN  1886.  605 

opinion,  and  to  show  how  liberty  may  exist  under  law.  Science,  relig- 
ion, the  press,  and  public-schools  are  now  training  the  Japanese  peo- 
ple for  their  coining  responsibilities.  Nearly  six  hundred  young  men 
have,  since  the  first  exodus  in  1865,  been  educated  abroad  at  the  pub- 
lic expense,  most  of  them  in  the  United  States.  An  equal  or  greater 
number  have  attended  foreign  schools  at  their  own  charges,  while  the 
number  of  travellers  and  those  who  have  intelligently  studied  western 
civilization  cannot  fall  short  of  three  thousand.  The  Japanese  have 
now  their  legation,  consulates,  bank,  clubs,  and  a  Christian  church  in 
the  United  States.  At  least  three  thousand  in  various  industrial 
capacities  are  living  in  Europe,  China,  Hawaii,  and  other  countries. 
No  year  passes  without  seeing  delegations  of  public  inspectors  or  pri- 
vate students  abroad,  all  restlessly  eager  to  know  the  secrets  of  power 
possessed  by  the  western  nations. 

Though  the  Japanese  long  ago  accepted  the  axiom  that  "education 
is  the  basis  of  all  progress,"  yet  their  efforts  in  intellectual  advance- 
ment have  been  impeded  by  their  long  use  of  the  Chinese  graphic 
system.  The  best  years  of  a  student's  life  must  be  devoted  to  learn- 
ing thousands  of  arbitrary  characters  in  order  to  know  how  to  read. 
To  be  a  learned  man  in  the  Japan  of  to-day  one  must  know,  besides 
his  own  language,  the  cumbrous  Chinese  system  of  writing,  with  much 
of  its  body  of  learning,  and,  in  addition,  the  English  or  some  other 
modern  European  language.  No  youth  are  more  burdened  in  ob- 
taining an  education  than  are  the  Japanese.  Hence  the  vast  sac- 
rifice of  health  and  life  among  them,  and  their  early  intellectual 
decay. 

Fully  realizing  these  indisputable  facts,  the  thinking  men  of  this 
generation  have  resolved  to  break  the  yoke,  to  cast  off  the  incubus, 
and  to  free  the  intellect  of  the  future.  In  1884  the  Roma-ji  Kai,  or 
Roman-letter  Association,  was  formed  in  Tokio,  and  has  now  six  thou- 
sand members,  native  and  foreign,  among  whom  are  all  the  mission- 
aries. .Their  purpose  is  to  supplant  the  Chinese  character  and  native 
syllabary  by  the  Roman  alphabet  as  the  vehicle  of  Japanese  thought. 
They  have  demonstrated  that  all  possible  sounds  and  vocal  combinations 
can  be  expressed  by  using  twenty-two  letters.  They  print  a  newspa- 
per, edit  text-books,  and  will  transliterate  popular  and  classic  texts  in 
the  chosen  letters  of  the  alphabet  now  most  widely  used  over  all  the 
earth.  It  has  been  proved  that  a  child  can  learn  to  read  the  colloquial 
and  book  language  in  one-tenth  of  the  time  formerly  required.  The 
reform  is  making  rapid  progress ;  and  if,  as  seems  very  probable,  the 


606  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

natives  universally  adopt  the  system,  the  gain  to  mind  and  body  will 
be  like  that  of  adding  youth  and  years  to  a  nation's  life. 

By  an  imperial  decree,  issued  November  29,  1884,  the  English  lan- 
guage was  made  part  of  the  order  of  studies  in  the  common-schools. 
Over  three  million  children  and  youth  now  attend  daily  the  public 
institutions  of  learning.  Education  is  both  compulsory  and  free. 
EngMsh  seems  destined  to  become  the  speech  of  the  educated  and  the 
vehicle  of  knowledge  for  all  the  mikado's  subjects. 

The  progress  of  Christianity  shows  no  sign  of  check  or  halt.  To 
all  three  forms  of  the  faith  converts  are  flocking,  but  indications  seem 
to  show  at  present  (1886)  a  greater  relative  gain  to  the  churches  of 
Reformed  Christianity.  The  majority  of  the  two  hundred  Protestant 
missionaries  now  working  in  the  white  harvest -field  of  Japan  are 
Americans.  The  writer  saw  the  organization  of  the  first  Protestant 
Christian  church  in  Japan  in  1872.  There  are  now  nearly  two  hun- 
dred organized  churches  (about  half  of  which  are  self-supporting), 
with  a  membership  of  over  thirteen  thousand.  In  1885  the  adult 
converts  baptized  numbered  3115.  Native  Christian  helpers,  assisting 
the  foreign  teachers,  number  about  two  hundred  and  fifty,  of  whom 
seventy  are  ordained  ministers.  The  native  Christians  contributed 
in  1885  over  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  systems  of  heathenism 
are  waning,  and  the  chief  supporters  of  Buddhism  are  now  old  men 
and  women.  The  shaven-pated  priests  no  longer  hold  the  monopoly 
of  fees  for  the  performance  of  burial  rites.  Both  belief  and  burial 
are  now  free.  Religious  liberty  has  become  a  fact.  The  attitude 
of  the  intelligent  people  is  that  of  friendliness  towards  what  they  be- 
lieve to  be  the  best  religion  and  the  one  which  Japan  ought  to  have. 

Japan's  opportunity  seems  unique  in  history.  Under  Divine  Prov- 
idence she  began  renascence  at  a  time  coincident  with  the  highest  de- 
velopment of  the  forces — spiritual,  mental,  and  material — that  control 
human  society.  Christianity,  the  press,  and  steam  are  transforming 
the  nation.  Under  such  continuing  auspices  people  and  rulers  con- 
front the  twentieth  year  of  Meiji  (Enlightened  Peace),  the  twenty-five 
hundred  and  forty-seventh  "from  the  foundation  of  the  empire,"  and 
the  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-seventh  of  the  Christian  era,, 


JAPAN  IN  1890.  607 


III. 
JAPAN  IN  1890. 

TAKING  our  survey  of  Japan  in  1890,  and  writing  in  mid-August 
with  the  election  returns  before  us,  it  seems  that  the  one  event  which 
dwarfs  all  others  since  the  year  1886,  if  not  indeed  since  the  Japanese 
became  a  nation,  is  the  proclamation  of  the  Constitution  of  February 
11,  1889.  In  accordance  with  this  instrument,  the  emperor  shares 
with  his  people  the  work  and  responsibilities  of  government. 

The  possibility  of  an  Asiatic  nation's  becoming  constitutional  and 
representative  in  government  excites  surprise  and  even  incredulity  in 
the  minds  of  Western  people.  Since  the  solidity  and  permanence  of 
any  form  of  political  organization  must  depend  upon  how  far  it  is 
rooted  in  the  past,  and  is  in  accord  with  the  genius  and  necessities  of 
a  people,  let  us  examine  the  process  by  which  the  present  status  of 
Japan  has  been  attained.  Is  the  Constitution  of  1889  a  manufacture 
or  a  growth  ? 

A  rapid  view  shows  us  that  in  all  Japanese  history  the  central  force 
has  been  the  reverence  of  the  people  for  the  throne,  while  the  actual 
administration  has  always  been  in  the  hands  of  some  one  family,  clan, 
or  clan  combination.  Passing  over  the  "ages  eternal"  of  mythology, 
and  reckoning  that  the  traditions  of  the  house  or  tribe  of  Yamato  are 
trustworthy  from  the  fourth  century,  then  the  imperial  line  of  Japan 
has  been  in  existence,  by  blood  and  adoption,  nearly  sixteen  hundred 
years.  Yet,  excepting  the  individuals  Nobunaga  and  Hideyoshi,  the 
actual  rulers  of  the  empire  have  been  men  of  the  Fujiwara,  Taira, 
Minamoto,  IIojo,  Ashikaga,  and  Tokugawa  families;  and,  since  1868, 
of  the  "  Sa-cho-to,"  or  the  Satsuma,  Choshiu,  and  Tosa  clan  combi- 
nation. For  the  first  time  in  Japanese  history  the  intermediary  of 
family  or  clan  control  of  the  throne  is  now  to  be  abolished.  The 
meaning  of  the  Constitution  of  1889 — the  expansion  of  the  oath  of 
1868 — is  that  the  emperor  invites  his  PEOPLE  to  share  with  him  the 
duties  of  government.  This  time  it  is  not  a  family,  a  clan,  or  a  com- 
bination, but  the  nobles,  gentry,  and  people ;  but  who  are  the  people? 

As  there  has  been  no  true  history  of  Japan  yet  written — that  is,  one 
which  sifts  utterly  the  truth  from  early  and  late  fable  and  mythology — 


608  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

so  there  exists  no  accurate  history  of  the  Japanese  people.  What 
passes  for  history  in  the  bald  and  dry  native  annals  is  the  story  of 
their  conquerors,  masters,  and  tax-collectors.  We  see  clearly  outlined, 
however,  the  separation  of  classes.  At  first  there  were  only  tribes 
and  chiefs,  the  subjugators  and  the  subjugated,  agriculturists  and  no- 
mads. Then,  in  a  long  course  of  war,  the  soldiers,  finding  nearly  per- 
manent employment,  keep  sword,  spear,  and  armor,  while  the  farm- 
ers clinging  to  hoe  and  hook,  two  classes  are  formed  out  of  the  mass 
of  inhabitants  beyond  the  court  and  beneath  the  nobles.  Those  men, 
whose  business  it  was  to  samurai  the  mikado — that  is,  to  serve  or  at- 
tend upon  the  orders  of  the  emperor,  made  up  the  military  class; 
the  farmers,  as  being  next  below,  forming  the  most  ancient  and  hon- 
orable of  the  lower  classes.  Among  the  social  grades,  formed  by 
gradual  evolution  and  isolation  during  the  intervals  of  peace,  may  be 
named  the  merchant,  artisan,  and  people  of  other  occupations,  even 
to  the  outcast  eta  and  hinin.  Since  18G8  all  the  grades  below  the  sam- 
urai, or  gentry,  have  been  fused  into  one  class,  the  hei-min,  or  people. 

The  chief  feature  in  the  old  Japanese  political  system  was  its  ten- 
dency to  dualism.  The  division  of  the  people  into  soldiers  and  farm- 
ers, and  of  officers  into  civil  and  military,  or  kuge  and  buke,  was  a 
process  which,  in  the  absence  of  foreign  pressure  or  enemies,  ended 
in  a  division  of  the  functions  of  government  into  those  of  the  throne 
and  the  camp,  with  two  rulers  and  two  capitals.  Gradually  this 
process  of  dualism  became  one  of  disintegration.  Authority  slipped 
from  the  centres,  and  was  held  locally  by  province  lords,  or  daimios, 
each  striving  for  himself;  until,  duarchy  having  degenerated  into 
feudalism,  Japan  had  no  unity,  but  was  a  mass  of  warring  fac- 
tions. Politically  or  socially,  the  comminution  could  no  further  go. 
Even  when  "the  man  on  horseback"  by  military  force,  was  able  to 
clamp  together  some  sort  of  a  political  edifice,  the  order  thus  kept 
was  only  of  the  sort  possible  when  there  was  no  pressure  from  the 
outside,  and  when  no  foreign  enemy  threatened.  For  over  two  cen- 
turies the  military  despotism  of  Tokugawa  held  in  peace  by  a  most 
elaborate  and  complicated  system  an  empire  which  consisted  of  about 
three  hundred  petty  kingdoms,  within  each  of  which  was  a  social  con- 
glomeration of  a  dozen  or  more  different  classes. 

Old  Japan  was  a  museum  of  political  curiosities,  while  on  the 
graded  shelves  of  the  social  classification  was  catalogued  every  speci- 
men, from  a  god  to  the  creatures  labelled  "not  human."  Under  out- 
ward splendor  and  picturesqueness,  only  a  few  far-seeing  men  saw 


JAPAN  IN  1890.  609 

that,  first  of  all,  Japan  needed  unity;  fewer  discerned  that  the  coun- 
try must  have  government  by  men  and  not  by  custom;  fewest  yet 
that  to  be  a  great  nation  Japan  must  have  a  people. 

Heretofore  "public  opinion"  has  been  the  exclusive  property  of 
the  samurai.  "  The  people,"  in  the  modern,  not  to  say  the  American, 
sense,  have  not  yet  grown  to  consciousness,  though  the  llth  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1889,  was  the  day  of  birth.  Nineteen-twentieths  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Japan  have  been  simply  burden -bearers  and  tax -payers; 
now  they  are  becoming  "the  people."  Japan,  having  cast  off  dual- 
ism, feudalism,  and  other  divisive  elements,  has  entered  upon  a  higher 
process  of  unity.  The  people  are  now  learning  who  and  what  they  are: 

Glancing  now  at  the  various  forms  of  government,  we  discern  in 
the  early  ages  a  rudimentary  feudalism,  probably  brought  by  the 
Yamato  conquerors  from  the  Amoor  or  Sungari  valleys.  After  this 
follow  in  order  centralized  monarchy,  duarchy,  elaborate  feudalism, 
and  then,  in  1868,  a  composite  government  formed  on  the  theory  of  a 
union  of  the  throne  and  "the  people" — that  is,  the  samurai.  In  this 
government,  the  chief  intermediaries  being  the  triple  premiership  and 
other  various  minor  and  temporary  political  expedients,  the  actual  ad- 
ministration was  carried  on  by  able  samurai,  formerly  men  of  low 
social  rank,  but  well  fitted  for  the  work  in  hand.  In  a  survey  of  the 
twenty-one  years  of  the  government  of  Meiji  several  facts  stand  out 
prominently ;  the  first  is  that  the  former  ruling  class  of  daimios  and 
other  nobles,  and  the  people,  have  had  very  little,  if  any,  political 
power;  second,  that  the  Meiji  statesmen  have  shown  in  their  actions 
a  curious,  perhaps  admirable,  combination  of  opportunism  and  far- 
sighted  statecraft;  third,  that  natural  force,  ability,  and  education  have 
driven  out  incompetency  ;  fourth,  that  despite  all  obstacles,  they  have 
led  the  nation  steadily  forward  to  the  goal  set  before  them  at  the 
Restoration,  and  far  beyond  it ;  fifth,  that  Japan  is  to-day  vastly  less 
the  land  of  lies  and  sham  than  in  the  old  days  of  seclusion,  and  is 
more  and  more  the  country  of  reality  and  truth. 

In  brief,  Old  Japan  was  the  result  of  certain  conditions,  chief  of 
which  was  isolation  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  So  long  as  no  leaven 
from  without  was  dropped  into  the  mass,  the  old  constitution  of  soci- 
ety and  government  could  remain  stable.  When,  however,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  movements  in  the  minds  of  scholars  and  thinkers  previous 
to  A.D.  1853,  which  of  themselves  would  have  precipitated  revolution 
and  compelled  reconstruction,  there  was  poured  into  Japan  the  fer- 
ment of  Christian  civilization,  the  entire  structure  was  doomed.  A 


610  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

new  society,  as  well  as  a  new  government,  must  arise.  Despotism, 
division,  and  sectionalism  had  to  give  way  in  order  that  national  unity 
should  emerge.  The  old  society,  split  up  by  feudalism,  priestcraft, 
and  ignorance,  must  be  first  simplified,  and  by  education,  enlighten- 
ment, and  freedom  the  nation  be  strengthened  and  uplifted.  Public 
opinion,  as  the  basis  of  national  action,  must  be  the  real,  though  regu- 
lated, feeling  of  all,  from  emperor  to  eta.  In  the  attainable  ideal  sys- 
tem the  humblest  member  of  the  body  politic  is  a  man,  and  the  high- 
est nothing  more. 

That  there  were  men  who  before  1853,  the  year  of  Perry's  arrival 
at  TJraga,  thus  thought  and  felt,  and  to  this  end  devoted  their  lives,  is 
manifest  from  tradition,  history,  and  the  writings  of  such  men  as  Ta- 
keno  Choye,  Watanabe  Kuazan,  Hashimoto  Sanai,  Fujita  Seinoshin, 
Sakama  Shuri,  Yoshida  Toraijiro,  Yokoi  Heishiro,  Matsudaira  Yoshi- 
naga,  daimid  of  Echizen,  and  many  other  noble  morning-stars  of  refor- 
mation. Under  various  pretexts,  whether  of  opposition  to  foreigners 
or  to  the  Bakufu,  these  far-sighted  patriots  "  veiled  their  larger  pur- 
pose." Highest  in  rank  and  influence,  and  most  eager  for  national 
unity  and  representative  government,  the  pupil  of  Yokoi  Heishiro,  and 
probably  the  ablest  of  all  the  daimios,  was  Matsudaira,  lord  of  Echi- 
zen, who  had  already  begun  to  form,  in  his  own  dominions,  before 
Perry's  arrival,  a  miniature  of  the  New  Japan  of  the  Meiji  era.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  to  propose  to  the  Yedo  Government  the  calling  of 
a  council  of  daimios  to  deliberate  upon  the  American  proposal  to  en- 
ter into  treaty  relations.  In  thus  seeking  the  "public  opinion"  of 
the  country  as  represented  by  the  feudal  clans,  and  in  the  holding, 
during  many  days  and  nights  in  1854,  of  the  great  council  of  both 
active  and  retired  daimios,  in  Yedo,  we  see  the  first  step  towards  the 
national  parliament  of  1890. 

Yet  this  very  step  revealed  the  weakness  of  the  despotism  of  Yedo 
thus  called  to  confront  a  new  problem.  To  behold  the  Yedo  auto- 
crats, who  had  hitherto  by  force  required  only  instant  obedience  of 
their  vassals,  humbly  inviting  them  to  conference  was  a  startling 
revelation  to  men  who  watched  every  movement  of  the  Bakufu.  The 
samurai  were  aroused  at  once,  but  finding  few  or  no  leaders  among 
their  masters,  the  daimios,  who,  with  the  noteworthy  exceptions  of 
Echizen,  Mito,  Hizen,  Tosa,  and  Uwajirna,  formed  a  Sahara  of  medi- 
ocrity, the  thinking  men  turned  for  leadership  to  the  court  nobles  in 
Kioto,  and  then  strove  to  win  their  feudal  masters  to  their  side. 

When  confronted  by  Townsend  Harris,  and  by  the  envoys  of  Eu- 


JAPAN  IN  1890.  611 

rope  who  followed  after,  who  demanded  residence  and  trade,  there 
was  a  choice,  to  the  bakufu,  between  two  methods  of  policy.  One 
was  represented  by  li  Kamon  no  Kami,  who,  with  probably  a  noble 
motive,  chose  the  method  of  the  autocrat,  increasing  despotism  un- 
der the  plea  of  necessity.  The  other  method  was  represented  in  the 
person  of  Matsudaira,  daimio  of  Echizen,*  who  had  national  modern  and 
Western  ideas,  and  believed  that  all  acts  of  government  should  be  upon 
the  basis  of  public  opinion.  The  one  was  destined  to  illustrate  the 
truth  that  government  in  Old  Japan  was  "despotism  tempered  by  as- 
sassination." The  other  lived  to  see  grandly  illustrated  the  capacity 
of  the  nation  for  representative  and  constitutional  government,  dying 
in  1890.  Heartily  trusting  the  wisdom  and  abilities  of  the  enlight- 
ened men  of  the  southern  and  western  clans,  he,  when  Supreme  Direc- 
tor of  Affairs,  in  1862,  released  them  and  the  daimiosfrom  Yedo,  made 
Kioto  the  real  capital,  and  there  opened  the  then  possible  avenues  for 
the  expression  of  opinion. 

Largely  through  the  influence  of  Echizen,  while  resident  at  the  palace 
during  several  months,  the  acts  of  the  court  were  done  in  accordance 
with  the  policy  suggested  by  the  clans.  In  the  deliberations  of  the 
men  who  formed  the  Government  proclaimed  January  3,1868,  Echizen, 
with  his  troops,  being  then  guardian  of  the  palace,  this  enlightened 
daimio,  besides  pleading  for  union  of  all  the  political  forces,  old  and  new, 
without  civil  war  or  estrangement,  urged  above  all  things  the  necessity 
of  a  national  parliament.  Though  the  outbreak  of  war  and  the  shedding 
of  blood  were  keen  disappointments  to  him,  he  persevered  in  the  work 
of  national  unity  and  reconstruction.  By  an  oath  of  the  mikado  (p.  318) 


*  The  Marquis  Matsudaira  Yoslrinaga,  or  Shungaku,  whose  portrait  is  orrpage 
308,  was  born  in  Yedo,  A.IX  1827,  and  died  in  Tokio,  June  2,  1890.  In  1838  he 
was  adopted  as  a  son  t>y  the  daimio  of  Echizen,  and  in  1843  became  active  ruler 
in  Fukui.  He  introduced  various  reforms  in  the  arts  of  development  and  de- 
fence. He  built  a  gun  factory,  cannon  foundery,  and  powder-mill;  introduced 
vaccination,  Dutch  medical  practice  and  military  tactics,  the  study  of  Dutch, 
and  the  translation  of  Dutch  books;  organized  a  hospital,  a  medical  school,  a 
college  of  literature,  invited  Yokoi  Heishiro,  the  renowned  Higo  teacher,  to  be 
his  counsellor,  and  made  Fukui  a  hospitable  place  for  scholars  and  far-sighted 
patriots.  All  this  was  done  before  1854.  At  first  opposed  to  foreign  intercourse 
on  account  of  the  weakness  of  Japan,  and  the  opponent  of  li  Kamon  no  Kami, 
he  became,  in  1862,  one  of  the  most  progressive  men  in  Japan.  After  holding 
many  offices  of  high  honor  under  the  government  of  Meiji,  including  the  presi- 
dency of  the  university  and  head  of  the  revenue  department,  he  received  from 
the  mikado  the  highest  honors  possible  to  a  living  subject,  rising  to  the  second 
degree  of  the  first  rank. 


612  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

the  five  principles  of  the  new  governni'ent  which  form  this  Constitu- 
tion of  1868  and  the  basis  of  New  Japan — expressed  in  their  verbal  form 
by  Yuri  Kinmasa,  a  samurai  of  Echizen,  and  pupil  of  Yokoi  Heishiro 
— were  published  and  established.  In  accordance  with  the  promise 
that  "a  deliberative  assembly  should  be  formed,  and  all  measures  be 
decided  by  public  opinion,"  the  first  parliament  was  opened  in  Kioto 
in  1868,  the  representation  being  in  the  persons  of  samurai  only,  each 
clan,  according  to  its  numbers,  sending  one,  two,  or  three  members. 
When  Yedo  was  made  the  kid,  or  capital,  and  named  Tokio,  a  second 
parliament  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  members,  two  hundred  of 
whom  were  present,  convened  April  18,  1869.  This  new  body  was 
named  Shiugi-In,  or  House  of  Commons.  After  discussing  various 
questions,  especially  that  of  a  new  Constitution,  and  rejecting  the 
proposition  to  relinquish  the  wearing  of  swords  (p.  400),  this  assem- 
bly died  a  natural  death.  It  was,  in  the  temper  of  its  members,  so  far 
behind  the  needs  of  the  time,  and  of  the  ideas  of  the  progressive 
leaders  in  the  Government,  that  it  was  likely  to  defeat  the  very  ends 
proposed  in  its  creation. 

Although  the  petition  of  Goto,  Yuri,  and  others,  in  1874  (p.  574), 
was  rejected,  and  substitutes  for  a  national  assembly  were  supposed  to 
exist  in  the  Sa-In,  or  Senate  so  called,  formed  in  1871,  its  members  being 
nominated  by  the  premier,  and  in  its  successor  the  Genro-In,  also  called 
a  Senate,  yet  no  decisive  movement  towards  national  representation  was 
made  until  1873,  when  a  meeting  of  the  governors  of  the  prefectures 
was  called  in  Tokio  (p.  589  ).  Nevertheless,  in  the  creation,  in  April, 
1875,  of  the  Genro-In,  or  Senate,  and  the  Dai  Shin-In,  or  Supreme 
Court  of  Appeals,  and  the  promise  in  the  same  decree  to  "gradually 
confer  upon  the  nation  a  constitutional  form  of  government,"  we  see 
the  'first  clear  step  towards  the  modern  division  of  government  into  the 
executive,  legislative,  and  judicial  branches.  In  July,  1875,  the  promise 
to  call  a  council  of  provincial  officials  "  so  that  the  feelings  of  the 
people  may  be  made  known,  and  the  public  welfare  attained,"  was 
fulfilled.  The  seventy  province-governors  were  addressed  by  the  em- 
peror, and  Kido  was  made  president.  Actually  more  influential  upon 
the  people,  however,  than  this  too  conservative  body  was  the  action  of 
certain  advisers  of  the  governors  coming  up  with  them,  who  met  in 
Tokio,  and  petitioned  the  Government  for  a  national  assembly  based  on 
popular  suffrage.  Adjourned  in  1877  (p.  591),  it  was  not  in  1878  ac- 
cepted as  the  boon  desired  by  the  nation,  even  though  the  foundations 
of  local  government  by  popular  representation  (p.  591)  were  laid  in  the 


JAPAN  IN  1890.  C13 

decree  of  the  emperor.  Then  followed  two  years  of  amazing  activity 
in  agitation  for  the  long-desired  parliament.  Led  by  Itagaki,  Okuma, 
Goto,  Soyejirna,  and  others,  public  opinion,  to  which  nobles,  gentry,  and 
commoners  contributed,  compelled  the  proclamation  of  October  12, 
1887,  naming  1890  as  the  year  of  the  national  assembly. 

While  thus,  on  the  one  hand,  the  political  education  of  the  people  in 
local  affairs  was  provided  for,  so  that  the  nation  should  have  at  least 
eight  years  of  preparatory  training  in  representative  government, 
Count  Ito  Hiroburai  was  sent  to  Europe  to  study  and  compare  the  con- 
stitutions and  laws  of  Western  nations.  Shortly  after  his  return,  in 
1884,  it  became  increasingly  evident  that  the  Constitution  of  1890 
would  approach  the  German  rather  than  the  British  model.  In  De- 
cember, 1885  (p.  601),  a  long  step  forward  was  taken  in  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  cabinet.  During  the  next  four  years  Ito  and  Inouye  were 
able  guardians  of  the  national  policy.  Especially  were  their  abilities 
manifest  during  the  protracted  treaty  negotiations,  and  the  intense 
political  excitement  consequent  upon  the  desire  of  the  liberal  agitators 
that  English  rather  than  Prussian  principles  should  be  emphasized  in 
the  new  Constitution.  The  fears  of  the  liberals  led  by  Count  Itagaki 
of  Tosa  were,  however,  confirmed  by  the  remarkable  imperial  rescript 
of  December  25,  1887,  by  which  several  hundred  persons  were  ordered 
away  from  the  capital.* 

In  April,  1888,  a  new  body  called  the  Privy  Council  was  formed,  of 
which  Ito  became  president,  while  Kuroda  filled  the  position  of  pre- 
mier. In  this  body  active  debate  upon  the  new  Constitution  began  in 
May,  and  proceeded  until  February  11,  1889,  when  the  long-awaited 
instrument  was  proclaimed. 

Exactly  to  the  day,  almost  to  the  very  hour,  thirty-five  years  after 
the  American  treaty-ships  were  in  sight  of  Idzu,  the  emperor  Mutsu- 
hito  took  oath  to  maintain  inviolate  the  government  according  to  the 
Constitution,  the  documents  attesting  which  he,  before  the  assembled 
audience  of  nobles,  officers,  and  foreign  envoys,  handed  to  Kuroda, 
the  Minister-president  of  State.  Extraordinary  popular  demonstra- 


*  A  discussion  of  "Coercion  in  Japan,"  in  The  Nation  of  February  16,  1888, 
precipitated  a  violent  newspaper  controversy  on  both  sides  of  the  Pacific.  Among 
other  protests  it  was  declared  that  the  article  had  "a  curious  air  of  anachronism 
about  it."  Yet  within  two  years,  besides  several  futile  attempts  at  violence  or 
assassination,  the  lives  of  two  cabinet  ministers  (Mori  and  Okuma)  were  assailed, 
the  one  by  knife  and  the  other  by  bomb ;  the  ministry  then  in  power  was  replaced 
by  one  more  radical,  while  a  strong  reaction  in  public  sentiment  followed. 


614  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

tions  of  joy  and  approval  followed  in  the  capital  and  provinces.  For 
the  first  time  in  Japanese  history  the  emperor  rode  beside  the  era- 
press  in  public.  Posthumous  titles  of  nobility  granted  to  the  dead, 
illustrious  rewards  to  the  living,  amnesty  to  prisoners,  and  other  marks 
of  imperial  favor  carried  joy  to  many  hearts.  The  horrible  blot  on 
the  day's  beautiful  record  was  the  assassination  of  the  Minister  of 
Education,  Arinori  Mori,  by  a  Shintoist  fanatic. 

The  Constitution  proper  consists  of  sixty-six  articles,*  treating  of 
the  emperor,  the  rights  and  ditties  of  subjects,  the  Imperial  Diet,  the 
ministers  of  state  and  the  Privy  Council,  the  judicature  and  finance, 
with  supplementary  rules.  With  the  laws  proclaimed  at  the  same 
time,  the  articles  number  three  hundred  and  thirty-two.  In  the  first 
chapter  relating  to  the  emperor  the  foundation-principle  of  the  whole 
past  of  the  nation  is  reaffirmed.  "The  mikado's  person  is  sacred  and 
inviolable.  He  combines  in  himself  the  rights  of  sovereignty,  and  ex- 
ercises them  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  present  Constitution." 
Japan  is  still  "the  mikado's  empire." 

Hitherto  the  rights  of  the  common  people  have  never  been  acknowl- 
edged, defined,  or  guaranteed.  Chapter  II.  is  of  immediate  interest 
to  thirty-eight  out  of  the  forty  millions  of  Japanese  people.  Their 
status  is  to  be  determined  by  law.  They  have  the  right  of  abode  and 
of  changing  the  same.  Except  according  to  law,  they  are  not  to  be 
arrested,  detained,  tried,  or  punished.  Trial  is  always  to  be  by  judges 
determined  by  law.  The  right  of  domicile  and  freedom  from  search, 
the  secrecy  and  inviolability  of  letters,  the  freedom  of  religions  belief, 
and  the  liberty  of  speech,  writing,  publishing,  public  meeting,  associa- 
tion, and  petition  within  the  limits  of  law,  are  guaranteed  to  every 
subject.  Under  the  sun  of  Japan  these  are  indeed  new  things. 

The  Diet  assembles  once  a  year,  and  is  opened,  closed,  prorogued, 
and  dissolved  by  the  emperor,  to  whom  the  initiative  of  amendments 
to  the  Constitution  belongs.  Deliberations  are  public.  The  ministeis 
of  state  may  take  seats  and  speak  in  either  House,  but  are  responsible 

*  See  the  writer's  article  in  The  Forum  of  April,  1889,  entitled  "  Representative 
Government  in  Japan";  the  pamphlet  containing  the  text  of  the  Constitution 
(Kelly  &  Walsh,  Yokohama);  "  Commentaries  on  the  Constitution  of  the  Empire 
of  Japan,"  by  Count  Ito  Hirobnmi,  translated  into  English  by  Miyoji  Ito,  Tokio, 
1889;  and  Prof.  Basil  Hall  Chamberlain's  "Things  Japanese,"  TokiS  and  Lon- 
don, 1890.  This  latter  work  is  a  mirror  of  contemporary  Japan,  and  an  encyclo- 
paedia of  valuable  information.  Also,  the  letters  of  J.  II.  Wigmore  in  The  Na- 
tion, July,  and  passim,  1890 ;  and  "  Constitution  of  the  Empire  of  Japan,"  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md. 


JAPAN  IN  1890.  615 

to  the  emperor  and  not  to  the  Diet.  In  the  judicature  exercised  by 
courts  of  law  in  the  name  of  the  emperor  the  trials  are  public,  and 
the  judges  are  persons  properly  qualified,  and  irremovable  except  for 
offence.  Expenses  and  revenue  of  the  State  require  the  consent  of  the 
Imperial  Diet,  but  the  fixed  expenditures  based  by  the  Constitution 
upon  the  powers  appertaining  to  the  emperor,  the  organization  of  the 
different  branches  of  the  administration,  and  the  salaries  of  all  civil 
and  military  officers,  such  expenditures  as  may  have  arisen  by  effect 
of  law,  or  that  relate  to  the  legal  obligations  of  "the  Government," 
shall  neither  be  rejected  nor  reduced  by  the  Diet  without  the  concur- 
rence of  the  Government.  Expenses  of  the  Imperial  House  do  not  re- 
quire the  consent  of  the  Diet  except  for  increase.  The  chief  weapon 
of  a  hostile  majority — the  stoppage  of  supplies  to  the  ministry  in 
power — is  thus  removed. 

The  government  of  Japan,  then,  is  organized  on  the  basis  of  imme- 
morial tradition,  with  modern  features  that  follow  the  German  rather 
than  the  English  model.  A  definite  amount  of  executive  power  is 
reserved  to  the  emperor  and  the  ministers  who  are  responsible  to 
him.  Under  the  written  lines  of  the  Constitution  are  the  watermarks 
of  compromise,  and  the  party  lines  are  marked  out  by  the  instru- 
ment itself.  Against  the  rushing  stream  of  democracy,  like  their 
own  mountain  torrents,  the  conservatives  will  be  the  dikes  (or  ja-kago, 
p.  531)  to  keep  hard  and  fast  the  imperial  prerogative.  The  pro- 
gressives will  at  once  begin  to  demand  greater  powers  for  the  Diet,  a 
broader  electoral  base,  and  greater  control  of  tne  finances.  Revolu- 
tions move  but  in  one  direction. 

The  Upper  House,  or  (mixed)  House  of  Peers,  consists  partly  of  he- 
reditary, partly  of  elected,  and  partly  of  nominated  members.  Mem- 
bers of  the  imperial  family,  princes,  and  marquises  sit  for  life.  A  cer- 
tain number  of  counts,  viscounts,  and  barons,  elected  by  the  members  of 
their  respective  orders,  serve  for  seven  years.  Men  of  ability  and  learn- 
ing nominated  by  the  emperor  are  life  members.  A  novel  and  interest- 
ing feature  is  that  from  each  of  the  imperial  cities  and  prefectures  a 
member  (noble,  gentleman,  or  commoner)  elected  by  the  fifteen  highest 
tax-payers  may  serve  for  seven  years.  The  combined  number  of  nomi- 
nated and  elected  men  is  not  to  exceed  the  number  of  members  hold- 
ing titles  of  nobility. 

The  House  of  Representatives  consists  of  about  three  hundred  mem- 
bers, at  least  thirty  years  of  age,  who  pay  national  taxes  to  the  amount 
of  fifteen  yen,  or  dollars,  and  serve  four  years.  Electors  must  be  twenty- 


616  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

five  years  old,  and  pay  national  taxes  to  the  amount  of  fifteen  dol- 
lars. The  average  number  of  representatives  from  each  prefecture  is 
not  quite  seven,  the  larger  having  from  ten  to  thirteen  members,  and 
three  cities  (Tokio,  Ozaka,  and  Kioto)  twelve,  ten,  and  seven,  respective- 
ly. In  1887  there  were  1,581,726  persons  in  the  empire  paying  taxes 
to  the  amount  of  over  five  yen,  of  whom  1,488,700  had  the  right  of 
voting  for  members  of  local  assemblies.  Of  those  paying  over  ten 
dollars  in  taxes  there  were  882,517,  of  whom  802,975  were  eligible 
to  vote,  or  sit  after  election  in  the  local  assemblies.  In  these  local 
legislatures  2172  members  sat,  the  number  of  standing  committees 
being  292.  The  electorate  of  the  National  Diet  numbers  probably 
300,000. 

With  quietness  and  order  the  threefold  election  passed  off  in  July, 
1890,  and  we  are  now  able  to  see  the  general  complexion  of  the  first 
Imperial  Diet,  and  to  form  some  idea  of  the  eagerness  of  the  Japanese 
to  avail  themselves  of  their  new  privileges.  About  eighty-five  per  cent, 
of  eligible  voters  availed  themselves  of  the  franchise,  and  the  number 
of  candidates  in  each  district  varied  from  two  to  fifteen,  there  being 
in  TSkio  ninety-two  applicants  for  the  twelve  seats,  and  in  eighty 
other  districts  three  hundred  and  thirteen. 

For  the  House  of  Peers,  so  called,  besides  the  nine  members  of  the 
imperial  family,  ten  princes,  and  twenty-one  marquises,  who  sit  by  he- 
reditary right,  fifteen  counts,  seventy  viscounts,  and  twenty  barons, 
elected  by  members  of  their  own  orders  (the  nobles  numbering  nearly 
six  hundred,  and  one-fifth  of  these  electives  being  chosen),  there  were 
chosen  out  of  the  forty-five  fully  organized  divisions  of  the  empire,  by 
the  fifteen  highest  tax-payers  in  each,  forty-five  members,  of  whom 
thirty-three  were  hei-mm,  or  commoners,  eleven  were  of  the  gentry,  and 
one  was  a  noble.  Other  members  are  to  be  nominated  by  the  emperor. 

Among  the  successful  candidates  for  the  House  of  Representatives, 
a  rough  classification  shows  as  great  variety  of  political  opinions  as  of 
occupations.  In  a  word,  all  of  the  existing  classes  of  the  people  are  well 
represented.  Without  space  to  analyze  the  political  parties,  we  may 
say  that  at  present,  far  more  than  in  Western  countries,  the  so-called 
national  parties  are  moulded  by  local  and  personal  influences  rather  than 
by  abstract  questions  of  policy.  "The  Government"  must  confront  a 
majority  hostile  in  form,  the  election  showing  conclusively  that  the 
voting  of  the  people  is  an  expression  of  their  own  will,  and  not  that 
either  of  the  ministers  in  office  or  of  the  higher  powers  in  authority. 
To  be  in  any  way  connected  with  governmental  employ  was,  in  almost 


JAPAN  IN  1890.  617 

every  case,  to  invite  certain  defeat ;  while  on  the  other  hand  few  of  the 
old  party  leaders  were  chosen  as  standard-bearers  in  the  new  field.  All 
things  considered,  the  issue  is  most  hopeful  to  the  lover  of  humanity 
and  well-wisher  of  the  Japanese  people. 

In  the  reconstruction  of  her  foreign  policy  Japan  has  endeavored  to 
have  the  treaties  revised  in  the  interests  of  mutual  justice,  to  secure  the 
removal  of  the  extra-territoriality  clauses,  and  her  treatment  by  the  na- 
tions of  Christendom  as  their  equal.  The  long  and  weary  question 
cannot  here  be  discussed,  but  is  probably  not  now  far  from  solution. 
Since  1881  the  new  Criminal  Code,  based  on  the  best  principles  of  West- 
ern jurisprudence,  has  been  in  successful  operation  ;  and  on  the  22d  of 
April,  1890,  the  new  Code  of  Civil  Procedure,  and  the  first  portion  of 
the  Civil  Code,  were  promulgated.  The  fruit  of  fifteen  years'  labor  of 
foreign  and  native  experts  in  law  are  thus  set  forth.  In  both  the  let- 
ter of  the  documents  and  the  spirit  of  their  execution  the  sincerity  of 
the  Japanese  in  thus  preparing  to  live  up  to  what  is  expected  of  them 
by  the  world  is  clearly  manifest.  Contrariwise,  the  confidence  of 
foreign  nations  is  equally  shaken  when  such  relapses,  on  the  part  of 
"the  Government,"  into  the  vices  of  despotism  and  feudalism  as  the 
issue  of  the  so-called  Peace  Regulations  of  December  25, 1887,  or  when 
the  excesses  of  the  so-shi,  such  as  the  assassination  of  Arinori  Mori,  and 
the  attempt  by  dynamite  on  the  life  of  Okuma,  October  18,  1889,  chill 
the  hopes  of  those  who  believe  in  the  right  of  Japan  to  claim  equality 
with  Western  nations. 

For  a  solid  basis  to  our  hope  in  Japan's  future  we  look  to  the  large 
Christian  community  now  increasing  daily.  In  June,  1890,  the  churches 
of  reformed  Christianity  had  34,000  members  enrolled  ;  those  of  the 
Roman  form  of  the  faith  over  50,000  souls  under  their  care ;  while 
17,000  or  more  receive  spiritual  nurture  according  to  the  Greek  meth- 
od. These  subjects  of  the  mikado  make  in  all  a  nominal  household  of 
a  half -million  who  hold  the  promise  of  this  life  and  of  that  which  is 
to  come  through  Jesus  Christ.  The  celebration  of  the  complete  Bible 
in  Japanese  took  place  in  Tokio,  February  3,  1888.  Already  the  fer- 
tilization of  the  native  intellect  by  Christianity  and  the  Bible  is  mani- 
fest in  the  new  literature.  Qualities  utterly  absent  from  the  older 
writings  are  discerned  in  the  essays,  philosophy,  history,  fiction,  and 
journalism.  Christian  men  are  leaders  in  thought  and  letters.  The 
Japanese  are  even  beginning  to  write  critical  history. 

During  these  exciting  years  of  1889  and  1890,  amid  the  ferment  of 
politics,  and  the  fierce  discussion  of  treaty  revision  which  has  wrecked 


618  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

more  than  one  ministry,  a  strong  movement  to  preserve  what  is  best 
in  the  national  life,  in  language,  art,  government,  and  every  depart- 
ment of  achievement  has  been  in  progress.  Such  a  movement  natu- 
rally exhibited  some  phases  interpreted  by  foreigners  to  mean  reac- 
tion ;  but  underneath  much  that  is  condemned  by  the  best  men  of  the 
nation  there  is  a  larger  purpose  that  will  command  the  sympathy  and 
admiration  of  the  world.  No  nation  can  be  great  that  merely  imi- 
tates and  borrows.  With  wise  selection  the  Japanese  nationalistic 
movement  means,  we  think,  the  proving  of  all  things,  the  holding  fast 
that  which  is  good. 

Strong  in  faith  and  hope  of  the  prosperous  future  of  this  most  in- 
teresting of  Asiatic  nations,  and  in  undisguised  sympathy  with  her 
noble  purpose,  we  leave  our  inspiring  theme  of  representative  Japan. 
From  no  nation  of  Christendom  will  Japan  receive  more  hearty  good 
wishes  than  from  that  in  which  Matthew  Calbraith  Perry  was  born, 
and  which  of  modern  States  first  began  its  life  and  has  longest  lived 
under  a  written  Constitution. 


JAPAN  LN  1894.  619 


IV. 

JAPAN  IN  1894. 

FORTY  years  ago  the  whistle  of  the  American  steamers  awoke  Old 
Japan  out  of  her  hermit  sleep.  On  the  8th  day  of  July,  1853,  the 
four  men-of-war  arrived  at  Uraga.  The  signal  rockets  from  the  forts 
were  answered  by  the  rattle  of  cables  and  the  splash  of  anchors,  and 
Japan's  new  era  began. 

That  8th  day  of  July  prefigured  the  forty  years  of  history  which 
we  now  survey.  The  day  was  ushered  in  with  fog  so  thick  that  the 
land  was  hidden.  Only  at  intervals  could  the  rocky  outlines  of  the 
coast  be  discerned.  Gradually  through  the  sun-rent  curtains  of  mist 
the  mountains  became  visible.  At  meridian  Fuji's  glorious  form 
loomed  into  view,  and  by  mid-afternoon  the  whole  panorama  of  the 
landscape  and  blue  waters  greeted  the  eye.  At  sunset  the  peerless 
mountain  wore  a  crown  of  glory.  From  midnight  until  four  o'clock 
A.M.  appeared  from  the  south-west  a  meteoric  sphere  of  light  that 
moved  towards  the  north-east,  illuminating  the  whole  atmosphere, 
finally  falling  towards  the  sea  and  vanishing.  The  next  day  was  one 
of  sunny  splendor. 

So  has  it  been  with  Japan,  political  and  social.  Foreigners  in  the 
morning  of  their  life  on  the  soil  found  themselves  in  a  fog  of  igno- 
rance. Everything  Japanese  seemed  veiled  in  mystery.  Hiding  the 
real  facts  was  "a  vague  embodiment  of  something  which  was  called 
'The  Law';  but  what  that  'Law'  was,  by  whom  enacted,  and  under 
what  sanctions  enforced,  no  one  could  tell,  though  all  seemed  to  stand 
in  awe  of  it  as  something  of  superhuman  efficacy;  its  mysteriousness 
was  only  equalled  by  the  abject  submission  it  received."  No  country 
was  then  less  worthy  of  its  numerous  names,  all  making  boast  of  the 
sun,  of  light,  of  radiancy.  Japan  was  then  the  Land  of  Darkness. 

Gradually  the  dawn  broke,  the  fogs  of  mystery  were  riven,  and  the 
real  Japan  was  discovered.  Yet  before  the  cloudless  day  was  ushered 
in,  that  great  meteoric  movement  from  the  south-west  towards  the 
north-east — the  uprising  of  the  great  clans  which  made  New  Japan 
and  seated  the  Emperor  in  Tokio  —  took  place.  Like  the  coming  of 
the  Sun -goddess  out  of  her  cave  was  the  emergence  of  the  mikado 


620  TRM  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

into  tlie  white  light  of  public  duty.  The  mystery-play  was  over.  To- 
day Japan  is  worthy  of  her  name — Sunrise.  It  is  the  9th  of  July. 

Now,  information  on  a  thousand  subjects  is  freely  furnished  by  the 
Government.  Foreign  scholars  have  penetrated  the  arcana  of  litera- 
ture, have  challenged  and  dissected  tradition,  chronology,  and  claims 
even  of  the  Heaven-descended  dynasty.  The  Japanese  themselves,  ap- 
plying Western  methods  of  collection,  comparison,  classification,  and 
research  to  their  national  treasures,  land,  language,  and  history,  are 
coming  to  self-revelation  as  never  before.  They  are  seeing  themselves 
as  they  are.  The  process  is  not  wholly  safe  to  individuals,  and  free- 
dom of  speech  and  of  the  press  are  not  yet  what  we  count  freedom. 
Yet  there  is  at  present  probably  as  much  liberty  as  can  safely  be  en- 
joyed. One  signal  proof  of  the  willingness  of  the  Government  to  let 
light  shine  on  what  was  once  hidden,  is  its  annual  publication,  "Re- 
sume Statistique  de  L?  Empire  du  Japon."  * 

Japan  as  wonder-land  is  as  surprising  in  things  vanished  as  in  things 
created  during  these  forty  years.  Gone  are  Tycoon,  the  duarchy, 
feudalism,  the  old  codes,  customs,  ideals,  personalities.  In  their  places 
has  come  one  government  differentiated  in  three  functions — executive, 
legislative,  and  judicial — with  all  the  outward  appliances  of  modern 
civilization.  New  social,  industrial,  and  ethical  systems  are  in  proc- 
ess of  formation.  With  much  of  the  ancient  and  picturesque  igno- 
rance and  superstition  have  disappeared  some  things  that  were  worth 
keeping,  yet  in  New  Japan  the  new  codes,  ideals,  and  ambitions  are 
vast  improvements  on  those  of  the  old  days.  The  Japanese  have  de- 
termined to  take  their  place  not  only  among  the  nations  of  the  world, 
but  of  Christendom,  and  to  be  found  in  the  front  rank.  Nothing  less 
than  this  will  satisfy  them.  Already,  the  record  of  forty  years  is 
amazing,  and  the  surprises  are  not  all  over. 

Yet  who  have  been  the  creators  of  New  Japan  ?     The  natives  or  the 


*  This  manual  for  1893,  packed  with  figures  skilfully  tabulated,  maps,  diagrams,  tables  of 
weights  and  measures,  comparatives,  averages,  totals,  and  other  requisites  for  the  student's 
eye,  tells  an  eloquent  story  of  Japan's  progress.  Area,  population,  agriculture  and  indus- 
try, commerce  and  public  improvements,  facilities  of  transportation  by  land  and  sea,  pri- 
vate and  public  finances,  education,  religion,  hygiene,  charities,  with  details  of  justice,  po- 
lice administration,  army  and  navy,  and  civil  service  at  home  and  abroad,  make  a  statistical 
appendix  to  this  work  of  ours  no  longer  necessary.  This  invaluable  publication  has  for 
seven  years  been  compiled  and  edited  by  Mr.  Ishibashi,  chief  of  the  Imperial  Bureau  of 
Statistics  in  TOkiO,  author  with  Mr.  E.  Satow  of  a  pocket  dictionary  of  English-Japanese. 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  first  meeting  Mr.  Ishibashi  when  he  was  chief  interpreter  at  the  For- 
eign Office,  iu  1871,  Mr.  Terashinia  Muuenori  being  then  Vice -minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
(pp.  399,  402). 


JAPAN  IN  1894.  621 

foreigners?  Would  the  Japanese  of  themselves  have  attained  to  the 
status  already  reached  in  this  twenty-seventh  year  of  Meiji?  Are 
there  not,  apart  from  exterior  influences,  a  power  and  a  personality  on 
the  soil  of  the  New  that  were  not  in  the  Old  Japan  ?  As  secret,  as 
concealed  as  leaven,  were  they  not  as  potent? 

Japan  is  not  unique  in  history,  not  a  case  of  entire  self-reformation. 
Without  the  leaven  from  Christendom  this  oriental  lump  would  not 
be  as  it  is  seen  and  felt  to-day.  The  aliens  employed  by  the  Japanese 
have  not  told  their  story,  yet,  as  Professor  Basil  Hail  Chamberlain,  in 
his  "Things  Japanese,"  says,  "The  foreign  employe  is  the  creator  of 
New  Japan."  As  certainly  as  on  the  foundation-stones  of  the  Japan 
of  the  Meiji  era  belong  the  names  of  Rai,  Sakuma,  Yoshida,  Yokoi, 
Fukuzawa,  and  a  host  of  others  who,  while  living,  were  unrewarded 
non-officeholders,  so  also  should  be  inscribed  those  of  the  Yatoi  To-jin, 
or  "  hired  foreigners."  Whether  in  Japanese  pay  or  not,  as  hirelings, 
or  as  guests,  or  as  forces  healthfully  stimulating,  who  from  their  own 
governments  or  societies  received  stipend,  or  self-impelled  wrought 
for  Japan's  good,  their  work  abides.  The  world  may  forget  the  singer, 
but  the  song  is  still  heard. 

For  over  a  century  the  earnest  thinkers  of  Japan  went  to  school  to 
the  Dutch  at  Nagasaki.  These  Europeans,  professing  to  be  neither 
benefactors  nor  missionaries,  but  only  merchants  and  physicians,  gave 
their  pupils  a  long  object-lesson  in  civilization.  Pilgrims  thirsting 
for  knowledge  came  from  all  over  the  empire  to  learn  of  the  Holland- 
ers, and  dispersing  homeward  filled  the  country  with  centres  of  light. 
Maligned  by  their  enemies  in  faith  and  by  their  rivals  in  commerce, 
the  work  of  the  Dutchmen  for  a  century  in  supplying  a  hermit  nation 
with  books,  science,  and  medicine,  has  been  unknown  or  underrated. 
The  Dutch  laid  the  foundations  of  scientific  knowledge  of  the  Japanese 
and  their  country,  secured  the  abolition  of  the  insults  to  Christianity, 
and  made  the  way  easy  for  Commodore  Perry  and  Townsend  Harris. 
It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  single  native  pioneer  of  progress  in  the 
early  years  of  Meiji — statesman,  diplomatist,  military  leader,  physician, 
man  of  science,  interpreter,  author,  preacher — who  was  not  directly  in- 
debted to  the  Dutch. 

Not,  however,  until  the  decade  following  the  apparition  of  Perry 
did  foreign  influence  become  an  overwhelming  force  and  the  foreign 

o  o  o 

employe  a  permanent  figure.  Beginning  probably  with  the  American 
Professor  Pumpelly,  who  wrote  "Across  America  and  Asia,"  the  Japan- 
ese Government  and  individuals  enlisted  a  great  army  of  auxiliaries 


622  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

from  abroad.  In  what  branch  of  science  or  friendly  service  are  the 
makers  of  New  Japan  not  indebted  ?  English  scholarship  as  repre- 
sented by  Satow,  Aston,  Chamberlain,  McClatchie,  Gubbins,  and  others, 
first  rent  the  veil  from  ancient  Japan,  and  gave  to  native  students  the 
impetus  to  that  critical  and  comparative  study  of  their  own  language 
and  traditions  which  they  are  now  beginning  bravely  to  pursue. 
British  experts  organized  the  navy  and  trained  the  lads  that  are  now 
officers  and  the  junk-sailors  that  are, now  smart  marines  and  skilful 
artillerists,  created  and  equipped  the  Osaka  mint,  struck  the  coin- 
age of  which  no  Japanese  is  ashamed,  and  established  the  vernacular 
newspaper,  now  the  mighty  power  that  even  prime-ministers  and  Em- 
peror must  reckon  with.  Frenchmen  reorganized  the  army,  codified  the 
law,  and  built  the  Yokoska  dockyard.  The  Germans  have  directed  the 
higher  medical  education  of  the  country.  "  Not  less  a  feat  than  the 
reform  of  the  entire  educational  system  was  chiefly  the  work  of  a 
handful  of  Americans."  The  posts,  the  telegraphs,  the  railways,  the 
light  -  houses ;  the  trigonometrical,  geological,  and  geodetic  surveys; 
improved  mining  methods,  prison  reform,  sanitary  reform,  cotton  and 
paper  mills;  manufactories  of  many  kinds,  chemical  laboratories,  water- 
works and  harbor-works,  and  a  hundred  other  improvements  which 
have  enriched  the  country,  and  which  strike  the  eye  and  excite  the  ad- 
miration of  the  tourist — -"  all  are  the  creation  of  the  foreign  employes 
of  the  Japanese  Government."  * 

True  type  of  the  foreigners  who  not  merely  advised  or  inspected, 
but  who  wrought  by  example  and  precept,  patiently  teaching  technical 
details,  was  the  German  Dr.  Gottfried  von  Wagener,  whose  personal 
friendship  the  writer  enjoyed  while  a  fellow  -  worker  in  the  Imperial 
University  from  1871  to  1874.  Dr.  Wagener,  born  in  Germany  in 


*  It  is  not  probable  that  the  future  Japanese  historian  will  deign  to  use  as  important  ma- 
terial for  his  narrative  any  of  the  little  accordeon-like  publications  entitled  Yatoi  To-jin 
such  as  we  have  before  us.  While  the  throne  and  the  figure-hearts  and  a  multitude  of 
names  such  as  already  clog  the  pages  of  the  Japanese  annals  will  doubtless  occupy  vast 
space  on  the  historian's  page,  yet  a  glance  at  the  little  brochure  giving  names,  salaries,  and 
occupation  of  the  "hired  foreigners,"  is  like  a  visit  to  the  power-house  of  an  electric  rail- 
way. Here  are  the  generating  forces,  and  the  wheels,  belts,  and  motors,  while  to  the  out- 
side world  the  brilliancy  and  speed  of  the  moving  trains  astonish  the  spectator.  Here  are 
some  of  the  names  picked  out  at  random:  Pumpelly,  Tracey,  Hawes,  Douglas,  Cargill, 
Savaiier,  Verbeck,  Brinkley,  Brnnton,  Knipping,  Capron,  Antisell,  Eldredge,  Scott,  Wil- 
son, Simmons,  Geerts,  Wagener,  House,  Divers,  Gower,  Lyman,  Murray,  Smith,  Boisson- 
nade,  Palmer,  Chamberlain,  Miiller,  Hoffman,  McCartee,  Gowland,  Milne,  Mason,  Clark, 
Clarke,  Ingalls,  Baelz,  Conder,  Miquel,  Berlin,  etc.,  etc.,  with  scores  of  others  who  have 
during  longer  or  shorter  periods  of  time  imparted  the  secrets  of  Western  science,  learning, 
or  technical  skill,  and  patiently  shown  the  Japanese  how  to  do  likewise. 


JAPAN  IN  1894.  623 

1831,  was  a  master  of  applied  science  when,  in  1870,  lie  entered  the 
service  of  the  daimio  of  Hizen  to  improve  the  methods  of  porcelain 
manufacture  at  Arita,  in  which  he  happily  succeeded  so  far  as  the  re- 
sources of  that  province  would  then  admit.  One  of  his  notable  tri- 
umphs was  in  the  introduction  of  coal  as  fuel.  Besides  his  services  in 
education  at  Tokio  and  Kioto,  he  assisted  materially  in  preparing 
the  art  exhibits  of  the  Japanese  at  Vienna  and  Philadelphia.  He 
established  the  Artisan's  School  in  Tokio,  revolutionized  the  cloisonne- 
enamel  industry,  and  invented  the  famous  Asahi  yaki  (Morning-sun 
faience),  or  pottery  with  varied  colors  under  the  glaze.  The  writer 
has  never  known  a  man  who  combined  more  nobly  for  the  benefit  of 
his  fellow-men  self-absorption  in  science  with  absolute  self-effacement 
in  disposition.  He  died  at  Suruga  Dai  in  Tokio,  November  8,  1892. 
In  the  higher  work  of  moral  education  and  reform,  the  Christian 
missionary  is  a  noble  figure.  The  first  teachers  of  language,  literature, 
science,  and  philosophy  ;  the  first  dispensers  of  medicine  and  healing, 
active  in  charitable  relief,  constantly  stimulating  to  the  Government 
and  people  by  their  hospitals,  schools,  colleges,  preaching  and  advo- 
cacy of  moral  reforms ;  training  tens  of  thousands  of  natives  in  the 
arts  of  self-government  and  parliamentary  procedure;  supplanting  the 
old  Confucian  and  Chinese  codes  of  ethics  with  nobler  ideals  and 
practice,  the  teachers  of  Christianity  have  prepared  the  nation  for 
the  adoption  of  a  higher  form  of  civilization.  Greater  even  than  the 
wants  of  modern  material  forces  and  appliances,  by  the  confessions  of 
her  own  most  thoughtful  men,  is  Japan's  need  of  moral  power. 

True  types  of  the  servant  of  servants,  for  Christ's  sake,  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Japan,  are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  C.  Hepburn,  who  have  done  so  much 
to  break  down  the  barriers  between  natives  and  foreigners.  After 
thirty-three  years  of  service  in  school,  dispensary,  home,  and  study,  Dr. 
Hepburn  left  Yokohama  for  the  United  States  in  October,  1892.  The 
story  of  the  "American  Missionary  in  Japan,"  of  influences  and  results, 
and  of  native  appreciation,  has  been  modestly  told  in  part  by  Dr.  M. 
L.  Gordon.*  Since  the  reaction  against  everything  foreign,  which 
began  in  1888,  the  Christian  churches  and  schools  have  suffered.  Yet 
the  loss,  or  rather  the  retarded  acceleration  of  progress,  signifies  "no 
real  change  of  purpose  in  the  national  mind."  "Japan  for  the  Japan- 
ese" does  not  mean  more  than  healthy  patriotism.  Digestion  and  as- 
similation are  as  necessary  as  reception.  Christianity,  now  rooted  in 

*  "An  American  Missionary  iu  Japan."    Boston.    1892. 


624  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

the  soil  and  no  longer  a  mere  exotic,  can  live  its  own  life  in  the  hearts 
and  the  minds  of  the  people.  Christian  theology  can  live  and  grow 
expressed  in  terms  of  far-oriental  as  well  as  in  Greek  or  Latin  termi- 
nology. The  Japanese  Christians  will  create  their  own  theology  and 
adapt  it  to  the  national  consciousness  more  healthfully,  truthfully, 
and  spiritually  than  can  foreigners.  In  treating  of  "The  Theological 
Movement  in  Japan,"*  we  have  summed  up  our  impressions  as  fol- 
lows: "The  Japanese  genius,  as  vitalized  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  tends 
to  assimilation  rather  than  to  mere  acceptance.  Vigorously  has  the 
Christian  consciousness  of  Japan  cast  off  the  sectarian  and  provincial 
creeds  of  merely  English-speaking  Christendom.  Refusing  the  swad- 
dling-bands of  the  Scotch,  Yankee,  and  Anglican  phases  of  the  faith, 
it  has  sought  the  simplicity  that  is  Christ.  .  .  .  They,  with  the  Bible 
in  hand,  sought  the  shortest  path  to  Christ."  Already  the  record  of 
independent  native  Christian  life,  work,  and  literature  is  a  noble  one. 
It  shows  clearly  that  the  believers  in  Christ  in  Japan  want  the  Chris- 
tianity of  Christ  not  in  non-essential  and  accidental  alien  forms,  but  in 
its  reality  and  purity  as  far  as  it  can  be  apprehended  and  assimilated 
by  them. 

The  statistics  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1893,  furnished  by 
Rev.  Henry  Loomis  of  Yokohama,  show  that  the  Christians  of  the  Ro- 
man order  number  44,812  in  244  congregations;  those  of  the  Greek 
order  number  20,235  in  219  congregations;  those  of  the  Reformed 
order  number  35,534  in  365  local  churches.  Baptisms  for  1892  were  : 
for  the  Roman,  Greek,  and  Reformed  phases  of  the  one  faith,  5324, 
952,  and  3731,  respectively.  Thirty-one  organizations,  usually  called 
"Protestant,"  illustrate  more  of  Christian  unity  than  diversity,  since 
five  of  these  divisions  comprise  33,390  Christians,  all  the  self-support- 
ing native  churches  being  affiliated  with  these  groups.  At  present, 
the  religion  of  Jesus  in  Japan  is  better  represented  by  the  parable  of 
the  leaven  than  by  that  of  the  mustard-seed.  It  is  influencing  the 
national  life  deeply,  while  not  phenomenally  increasing  its  superficial 
area.  Buddhism,  still  the  religion  of  the  majority  of  the  mikado's 
subjects,  is  being  quickened  into  wholesome  activity.  It  has  yet  to 
show  whether  it  can  hold  the  heart  and  intellect  of  New  Japan. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  a  survey  of  political  history  and  see  what  has 
been  the  root  and  the  offspring  of  the  forty-years'  movement.  We 
shall  inquire  what  is  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  ceaseless  unrest  in 

*  "The  Outlook"  [.The  Christian  Union],  April  1,  1893. 


JAPAN  IN  1894.  625 

national  politics,  especially  in  the  long  conflict,  not  between  the  peo- 
ple and  the  Throne,  but  between  the  people  and  the  Government. 

The  meteoric  phenomenon  of  the  night  of  July  8,  1853,*  prefigured 
in  its  brilliancy,  direction  of  movement,  and  apparent  end  the  uprising 
of  the  two  (or  three)  great  clans  which,  since  1868,  under  every  form 
of  government,  have  ruled  the  mikado's  empire.  "It  made  its  appear- 
ance in  the  southward  and  westward,  and  illuminated  the  whole  atmos- 
phere. ...  It  pursued  a  north-east  ward  I  y  course  in  a  direct  line  for  a 
long  distance,  when  it  fell  gradually  towards  the  sea  and  disappeared." 

So  might  a  prophet  have  foretold  the  course  of  the  coalition  headed 
by  the  great  Satsuma  and  Choshiu  clans,  which  we  have  described  in 
Book  I.,  Chapter  XXVIII.  Fifteen  years  after  the  meteor  seen  from 
the  Susquehanna's  deck,  the  "  Sat-cho"  captured  Kioto  and  inaugurat- 
ed New  Japan.  Twenty-one  years  more  had  to  pass  before  the  prom- 
ise in  the  imperial  oath  to  summon  a  parliament  was  fulfilled.  To- 
day we  write  of  the  fifth  session  of  the  Imperial  Diet — that  august 
assembly  representing  the  nobles,  gentry,  and  people  of  the  country 
ruled  since  1868  by  the  Sat-cho.  The  story  of  the  two  elections  and 
of  the  five  sessions  is  that  of  a  fierce  and  not  wholly  bloodless  strug- 
gle between  the  Liberal  parties  and  the  Government,  or,  more  exactly, 
of  the  people  against  the  two  mighty  clans  intrenched  behind  the 
throne. 

The  net  results  of  four  sessions  seem  at  first  almost  trivial,  and  the 
story  is  soon  told.  In  the  first  session  of  1890-91,  the  hostility  of 
the  Opposition  was  against  the  cabinet  led  by  Count  Masagata.  A  re- 
duction of  the  Budget  to  the  extent  of  six  and  a  half  millions  of  yen 
was  secured,  and  a  collision  on  the  very  threshold  of  representative 
government  was  happily  averted.  The  second  session  of  1891—92 
opened  even  less  hopefully  for  the  Government,  and,  after  a  severe 
struggle,  ended  in  dissolution.  The  Kai-shin  and  Jiyu  parties  were  so 
joined  in  implacable  opposition  that  the  cabinet  ministers  soon  found 
that  the  situation  was  beyond  their  control ;  and  so  invoking  the  Em- 
peror's executive  interference,  they  appealed  to  the  country  through 
fresh  elections.  How  far  active  government  influence  was  brought  to 
bear  unfairly  to  secure  a  more  tractable  temper  in  the  Diet  cannot  be 
stated,  yet  it  is  evident  not  only  that  the  estrangement  between  the  pop- 
ular and  the  official  classes  was  increased,  but  that  the  Government  was 
bitterly  disappointed  in  results.  The  new  Diet  opened  May  6th,  1892. 

•  "Perry's  Narrative."    Appleton's  N.  Y.  edition,  p.  272. 


626  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

Although  in  this  third  session  the  Budget  was  not  considered,  yet  the 
Government  escaped  a  formal,  by  receiving  indirect,  but  real,  censure. 
A  new  and  eclectic  cabinet,  not  yet  the  creation  of  the  Diet,  but 
chosen  by  the  Emperor  and  made  up  of  "  all  the  talents,"  was  now 
formed.  It  was  led  by  the  veteran  Ito,  "  father  of  the  constitution," 
and  author  of  the  best  written  commentary  upon  it,  while  Inouye  be- 
came minister  of  the  Home  Department.  In  the  fourth  session,  the 
Jiyu-to,  or  Radical  party,  whose  favorite  measure — the  reduction  of  the 
land  tax — had  been  accepted,  manifested  a  desire  to  work  with  the  cab- 
inet. For  months,  however,  so  great  were  the  forces  of  opposition, 
that  the  problem  was  one  of  either  dissolution  or  compromise.  A  re- 
duction in  the  Budget  of  nearly  nine  millions,  or  a  grand  total  of  less 
than  eighty -four  millions,  was  insisted  upon.  The  Opposition  ap- 
pealed to  the  Emperor,  who  answered  in  a  state  paper  of  notable  abil- 
ity, in  which  party  strife  and  politics  were  ignored,  and  the  "fixed 
expenditures"  reduced  by  three  and  a  half  millions,  his  Majesty 
ordering  that  one-tenth  of  his  own  income  should  be  appropriated  to 
secure  the  results  desired.  Peace  came  through  the  Throne,  but  the 
Kai-shin  party  is  still  implacable  and  continues  agitation. 

The  battle  ostensibly  rages  round  the  Budget,  but  the  real  ques- 
tions at  issue  are  these:  Shall  the  government  of  the  country  be  by 
party  after  the  British  model,  or  according  to  the  Prussian  method? 
Shall  the  Government  be  really  responsible  to  the  Diet,  or  nominally  to 
the  sovereign  ?  Shall  the  power  be  in  the  hands  of  an  oligarchy  con- 
sisting largely  of  two  clans,  or  shall  the  clan  spirit  be  banished,  and 
sovereign  and  people  rule  ? 

The  roots  of  this  difficulty  go  back  to  the  days  of  the  Taiko  and 
lyeyasu,  to  which  rulers  the  great  clans  of  Satsuma  and  Choshiu  never 
gave  more  than  nominal  submission.  Proudly  and  sullenly  they  main- 
tained their  semi-independence,  and  waited  over  two  centuries  and  a 
half  for  revenge.  The  coming  of  the  alien  in  1853  was  the  awaited 
signal  to  begin  their  work.  While  individuals  were  unselfishly  conse- 
crated to  patriotism,  the  clans  masked  self-interest  under  the  plea  of 
loyalty  to  the  mikado,  overthrowing  in  1868  the  shogunate.  If  in 
Kioto  they  devoured  the  prey,  in  Tokio  they  divided  the  spoil.  No 
Benjamin  or  Saul  in  ancient  Israel,  no  Fujiwara  in  mediaeval  Nippon, 
no  American  politician,  ever  so  held  their  grip  on  the  treasury,  or  ex- 
celled the  Sat-cho  in  distributing  offices  to  clansmen.  The  inside  view 
as  eye-witness  which  the  writer  enjoyed  in  Tokio  during  three  years, 
over  two  decades  ago,  showed  him  how  grandly  the  Japanese  ex- 


JAPAN  IN  1894.  627 

cceded  the  American  spoilsmen  in  nepotism.  In  this  year  of  Mciji 
the  27th,  the  lists  of  government  officers  and  employes  show  that  the 
men  of  only  two  clans,  Satsuma  and  Choshiu,  still  fill  a  majority  of  the 
most  desirable  offices.  In  the  many  changes  of  ministries,  it  is  "  the 
mats  and  not  the  floor"  that  are  rearranged.  The  Japanese  political 
edifice  for  twenty-five  years  past  has  been  an  oligarchy  cemented  by 
clan  spirit.  This  is  the  real  meaning  of  the  long  struggle  of  the  peo- 
ple against  the  Government,  of  the  Lower  House  of  the  Diet  against 
the  Ministry.  During  the  year  1893  the  effort  has  been  especially  to 
reform  the  navy,  which  in  personnel,  declare  the  Kai-shin  politicians, 
is  virtually  an  organization  of  Satsuma  men.  Great  as  have  been 
the  services  of  the  illustrious  statesmen  of  the  Meiji  periods,  it  is  evi- 
dently the  deeply  settled  belief  of  the  people  that  new  times  and  prob- 
lems demand  new  men,  and  that  clan  spirit  is  now  an  anachronism  not 
to  be  tolerated  or  excused.  It  is  time  for  the  meteor  of  July  to  fall 
into  the  sea,  so  that  the  new  morning  of  true  national  life  may  dawn. 
The  men  of  the  Meiji  era  are  now  aging  fast  aud  passing  away. 
Sanjo  Saneyoshi,  General  Yamada,  Yoshida  Kiyonari,  and  Terashima 
Munenori  have  "changed  their  worlds"  since  our  last  chapter  was 
written.  Of  some  of  those  still  in  power  and  influence,  like  Ito  and 
Inouye,  it  can  be  said  that  they  have  opposed  the  clan  spirit,  served 
country  and  sovereign  with  pre-eminent  ability  and  faithfulness,  and 
foreseen  the  needs  of  the  nation.  To  such  patriots,  in  and  out  of 
office,  belongs  mucli  of  the  credit  of  Japan's  notable  progress  in  wealth, 
population,  and  prestige.  For,  despite  all  commotions,  dangers,  and 
calamities,  the  increase  is  notably  great.  Whereas  in  1872  the 
population  of  the  empire  was  but  33,110,000,  the  census  of  1892 
shows  a  total  of  41,089,940  souls.  There  has  been  hopeful  increase 
also  of  food  supply,  savings,  manufactures,  mines,  commerce  and  in- 
dustry of  all  sorts.  The  national  wealth  has  doubled  in  ten  years. 
Once  Japan  was  reckoned  by  Europeans  as  "hardly  worth  trading 
with."  In  1892,  the  total  of  exports  (91,102,753  yen)  and  imports 
(71,326,079  yen)  amounted  to  162,428,832  yen,  the  increase  in  one 
decade  being  one  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent.  The  United  States, 
once  having  the  least  of  the  trade  with  Japan,  now  leads  every  other 
nation  as  a  buyer  and  seller,  her  business  aggregating  in  1892  44,- 
663,024  yen.  Five-eighths  of  Japanese  trade  is  with  English-speaking 
nations.  It  is  from  Anglo-Saxondom  that  the  leaders  of  thought  and 
action  derive  their  chief  inspiration.  Resisting,  for  want  of  space,  the 
temptation  to  prove  and  illustrate  this  assertion,  and  to  show  the  in- 


628  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

fluence  on  religion,  science,  philosophy,  and  literature,  as  well  as  upon 
politics  and  national  development,  of  the  nations  using  English  speech, 
we  make  passing  reference  to  her  representation  at  the  World's  Co- 
lumbian Exposition. 

It  was  wholly  fitting  that  Xipangu,  the  country  which  the  Genoese, 
in  his  Spanish  caravels  in  1492,  was  seeking,  should  join  with  the 
world  in  honoring  his  exploit.  The  first  Asian  nation  to  send  ships  to 
America  across  the  Pacific — a  sailer  to  Mexico  in  1573,  and  a  steamer 
to  California  in  1860 — was  Japan.  In  the  generosity  of  her  financial 
appropriation,  and  the  variety  and  interest  of  her  contribution  to  the 
Chicago  Exhibition,  the  mikado's  empire  was  exceeded  by  only  two 
other  countries,  while  in  the  permanency  and  value  of  her  gifts  to  Chi- 
cago she  leads  the  world.  Her  total  space  occupied— falling  far  short 
of  the  desire  of  intending  exhibitors — was  about  150,000  square  feet. 
Under  the  roofs  of  the  halls  of  Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts,  of  Agri- 
culture, Fine  Arts,  Horticulture,  Forestry,  Mining,  Fisheries,  and  in  the 
street  devoted  to  entertainments,  in  bazaar  and  tea-house,  her  portable 
products  of  native  industry  and  genius  were  visible.  Yet,  strange  as  it 
seems,  the  only  permanent  edifices,  except  the  Art  Exhibition  building, 
that  remain  in  Jackson  Park  after  the  White  City  has  vanished,  are 
the  specimens  of  Japanese  historical  architecture  on  Wooded  Island. 
Of  the  three  separate  buildings  united  so  as  to  form  to  the  uncritical 
eye  a  single  structure,  called  the  Ho-den,  or  Phoenix  Palace,  the  centre 
and  right  and  left  wings  represent  three  epochs.  On  the  right  the  Fu- 
jiwara  style  (A.D.  1000-1200),  before  the  days  of  nails,  metal  hinges, 
sliding  partitions,  but  of  silken  corded  and  tasselled  curtains,  such  as 
Sei  Shonagon  could  easily  raise  (p.  211),  may  be  studied.  On  the 
left  stands  the  house  typical  of  the  Ashikaga  era  (A.D.  1333-1579), 
when  matted  floors,  papered  walls  and  partitions,  elaborate  metal-work, 
and  other  luxuries  came  into  vogue.  The  main  edifice,  with  its  greater 
number  of  roof-timbers  and  detail  of  decoration,  follows  the  fashion 
prevalent  in  Tokugawa  times  (1604-1868).  In  its  general  ground 
plan  the  edifice  follows  the  lines  of  the  Phosnix  Temple  built  in  Uji 
in  the  year  1050. 

While  the  United  States  has  celebrated  its  first  centennial  of  po- 
litical union,  and  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus,  Tei  Koku  Nippon  proposes  in  1895  to  com- 
memorate the  millennial  of  Kioto.  A  thousand  years  ago,  in  the  castle 
of  Hei-an,  the  mikado  fixed  his  residence,  and  around  him,  as  the  foun- 
tain of  authority,  grew  up  the  Kio,  or  "  Blossom  Capital." 


JAPAN  IN  1894.  629 

The  year  1894  opens  in  tumult  and  with  portents  that  disturb  the 
warmest  friends  of  Japan,  shaking  their  faith  in  the  capacity  of  an 
Asiatic  race  for  constitutional  government  or  for  participation  in  the 
comity  of  nations.  The  Diet  opened  November  25,  1893.  The  Bud- 
get, in  six  books,  containing  altogether  1438  pages,  estimated  the 
revenue  at  90,675,196  yen  and  the  expenditures  at  85,472,159  yen. 
The  House  of  Representatives,  in  a  spasm  of  political  animosity,  first 
proceeded  to  expel  its  speaker,  Mr.  Hoshi  Torn,  without  any  known 
charge  against  him  as  a  presiding  officer,  and  then  attacked  the 
Budget,  hoping  to  compel  a  resignation  of  the  Cabinet  ministers.  On 
the  19th  of  December  the  Government  suspended  the  sittings  of  the 
House  for  ten  days,  apparently  in  order  to  consult  what  should  be 
done — whether  the  Diet  should  be  dissolved,  or  the  Ministry  either 
resign  or  set  about  reconstruction.  Meeting  again  on  December  29th, 
the  House  was,  after  a  turbulent  session,  suspended  for  another  ten 
days.  On  the  next  day  the  Diet  was  dissolved. 

Thus  far  the  people,  as  represented  in  the  Diet,  have  steadily  gained. 
The  "military  party  "  in  the  Government,  that  wants  the  reign  of  force 
continued,  the  Diet  defied,  and  the  Constitution  rescinded,  has  been 
beaten.  Men  of  moderate  counsels  have  held  control.  With  them  a 
section  of  the  Jiyu  party,  led  by  Count  Itagaki,  the  unfaltering  pa- 
triot and  leader  of  a  twenty  years'  campaign — peaceful  campaign — is 
disposed  to  co-operate.  They  are  willing  still  to  wait  and  not  precipi- 
tate a  crisis.  The  Kai-shin  party  demands  instant  overthrow  of  clan 
government.  The  ten  political  coteries  or  groups  in  the  House,  dif- 
fering seriously  on  minor  points,  are  united  in  opposition  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  in  hearty  hatred  of  that  clan  rule  which,  whatever  be 
the  political  issue,  seems  doomed. 

Meanwhile,  awaiting  with  intense  interest  the  solution  of  the  prob- 
lems of  State  and  of  Church,  we  note,  in  closing,  the  advent  of  the 
new  book  in  New  Japan  and  the  literary  movement  so  full  of  prom- 
ise.* Now  that  the  old  literature  based  on  feudalism  and  Chinese 
ethics  no  longer  feeds  the  mind,  it  is  cheering  to  see  that  fresh  pens 
respond  to  the  needs  of  the  new  age.  After  Bakin  and  Ikku  have 
come  Yamada,  Tsubouchi,  and  Kotaro  Han,  in  fiction  ;  after  Rai  Sanyo 
appears  Shimada  Saburo  in  history  ;  after  Motoori  is  Kume  ;  while  in 
the  other  paths  of  thought  and  inquiry  still  walks  many  an  earnest 


*  "The  New  Book  in  New  Japan,"  The  Literary  World,  May  6,  1893.     "The  Literary 
Movement  in  New  Japan,"  The  Outlook,  January  27,  1S94. 


630  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

pilgrim.  Besides  embroidering  the  old  annals  with  romance,  there  is 
a  prodigious  activity  among  native  scholars,  who  now  write  their 
country's  story  on  critical  principles  and  in  attractive  literary  form 
for  the  people.  On  the  granite  front  of  the  Boston  Public  Library, 
in  company  with  the  hundreds  of  names  of  the  literary  torch-bearers 
of  every  age  and  country,  stand  those  of  Sugawara  Michizane  and 
Rai  Sanyo.  Recognizing  the  genius  of  the  Japan  that  is  past, 
Americans  welcome  gladly  the  dawn  of  a  day  so  full  of  literary 
promise.  Even  in  the  morning  of  her  life,  Nippon  was  called  Hi-no- 
rnoto  (the  day's  beginning);  to-day,  in  her  larger  and  richer  life, 
may  Japan  be  the  Land  Where  the  Day  Begins  for  all  Asia. 


THE   WAli   WITH  CHINA.  631 


V. 

THE  WAR   WITH  CHINA. 

To  most  of  the  people  of  the  three  countries — China,  Corea,  and 
Japan — as  well  as  to  the  world  at  large,  the  war  of  1894,  between 
Dai  Nippon,  a  unit,  and  some  fractions  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  came 
like  a  lightning-bolt  out  of  blue  sky.  To  the  rulers  of  the  Middle 
and  Sunrise  kingdoms  it  was  not  altogether  unexpected,  for  the 
relations  between  the  governments  of  the  two  empires  had  become 
strained  over  the  debatable  ground  of  Corea.  In  attempting  to 
explain  the  origin  of  the  war,  and  in  recounting  the  military  and 
diplomatic  movements,  we  shall  endeavor  to  be  impartial. 

As  we  view  the  situation,  China  stood  like  a  great  giant,  impos- 
ing to  the  world  because  of  size,  numbers,  and  claims  rather 
than  by  inherent  strength  and  simple  truth.  Trusting  in  antiquity, 
impervious  to  new  ideas,  contemptuous  of  every  civilization  except 
their  own — never,  indeed,  dreaming  that  there  was  any  other — the 
Chinese  were  in  a  chronic  state  of  unreadiness.  Japan,  like  an  athlete, 
having  all  available  powers  in  hand,  was  alert,  vigilant,  and  pre- 
pared. Corea,  like  a  pygmy,  and  without  a  government  worthy  of 
the  name,  stood  between  the  jealous  rivals  soon  to  become  hostile 
and  combatant. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  war  was  provoked  by  a  very  few  manda- 
rins. The  congeries  of  peoples  called  the  Chinese  Empire  form  in 
reality  only  a  patriarchal  state  which  has  no  real,  but  only  a  nom- 
inal, unity.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  China  considered  as  a  polit- 
ical entity,  but  there  are  various  provinces,  each  having  its  own 
local  government.  There  are  also  powerful  viceroys,  and  a  great 
central  figure-head  of  parental  authority  in  Peking,  under  whom  is 
a  bureaucratic  administration.  One  of  these  powerful  viceroys,  Li 
Hung  Chang,  with  patriotic  motives,  and  desirous  of  stirring  up  the 
authorities  at  Peking  to  arm  and  equip  for  modern  defence,  to  open 
the  mines  of  coal  and  iron,  to  lay  the  railroad  from  the  heart  of 
China  to  its  farthest  frontier,  to  forestall  Russian  aggression,  pro- 
voked the  war  of  1894.  lie  and  those  who  thought  with  him  ex- 


632  THE  MIKADO'S  UMPIRE. 

pected,  with  their  superior  ships  to  overpower  the  Japanese  navy, 
and  with  his  private,  or  at  least  provincial,  army  drilled  by  German 
officers,  to  beat  back  the  troops  of  Japan  from  Corea.  Thus  would 
the  two  objects — of  retaining  Corea  as  a  buffer  state,  and  of  excit- 
ing the  Peking  authorities  sufficiently  to  secure  appropriations — be 
secured.  In  Japan's  intestine  quarrels,  the  coveted  opportunity 
seemed  at  hand.  Deceived  by  surface  indications,  and  not  know- 
ing the  temper  of  the  Japanese,  China  forced  the  war. 

Those  who  during  the  past  eight  years  have  studied  the  behav- 
ior and  aggressive  advances  of  Yuan — China's,  or,  rather,  Li  Hung 
Chang's,  envoy  in  Corea — know  how  well  the  servant  obeyed  his 
master,  giving  abundant  excuse  and  justification  to  Japan,  the 
United  States,  or  some  other  power  to  interfere.  The  Japanese, 
having  opened  the  once  Hermit  Nation  to  the  diplomacy  and  com- 
merce of  the  world,  having  created  her  modern  trade  and  incipient 
industries,  having  interests  outweighing  and  outnumbering  those  of 
all  other  foreigners  within  her  borders,  resented  the  action  of  China 
in  virtually  outlawing  the  treaties  which  Corea  had  made,  and  in 
practically  keeping  her  subject  and  vassal  to  the  Middle  Kingdom. 

On  the  other  hand,  Japan  was  internally  nearing  a  political  crisis 
in  the  virtual  deadlock  between  the  emperor's  ministers  and  the 
lower  and  more  important  house  of  the  Imperial  Diet.  It  seemed 
as  though  something  must  be  done  to  divert  the  attention  of  the 
people  and  of  the  too  rapidly  growing  class  of  active  politicians  from 
intestine  quarrels  to  some  great  national  enterprise  abroad.  Fur- 
ther, the  pressure  of  a  population  increasing  at  the  rate  of  half  a 
million  a  year  has  forced  a  colonizing  nation  like  the  Japanese  to 
look  longingly  afield  for  expansion.  A  magnificent  army  and  navy, 
superbly  organized,  drilled,  officered,  and  ready  for  the  severest  trial 
of  powers  and  patriotism,  were  awaiting  onlv  a  signal.  For  twenty- 
five  years  the  Japanese,  oppressed  by  treaty,  powerless  under  a 
diplomacy  which  they  looked  upon  as  galling  and  unjust,  had  ap- 
parently yielded  only  with  and  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  victor 
in  the  end.  .Whether  in  time,  had  the  provocation  still  remained, 
Japan  would  have  outlawed  the  treaties  made  in  her  political  child- 
hood cannot  be  certainly  affirmed;  but  of  her  desire  to  impress  the 
world  at  large  with  her  abilities  as  a  military  power,  which  her  intel- 
ligent friends  already  knew  she  possessed,  there  can  be  no  question. 

Nevertheless,  patiently  biding  the  favorable  time,  knowing  that 
China  considered  her  as  a  traitor  to  Asia  and  to  Confucianism, 


THE   WAR    WITH   CHINA.  633 

Japan  kept  herself  ready  to  draw  instantly  the  sharp  line  whenever 
and  wherever  patience  should  cease  to  be  a  virtue.  Caring  not  a  jot 
for  the  size,  the  numbers,  or  the  reputed  colossal  resources  and  en- 
during powers  of  her  giant  rival,  the  athlete  watched  and  waited. 
Jack  and  the  Ogre,  or  rather  Momotaro  and  the  Oni's  Castle,  was  to 
the  Japanese  an  unforgotten  childhood's  tale. 

In  modern  times,  whatever  forces  have  upheaved  the  Asiatic  na- 
tions, stagnating  in  the  dreaminess  of  Buddhism  or  the  savagery  of 
Confucian  conceit,  have  been  born  of  Christianity.  In  Corea  the 
old  elements  and  institutions  of  a  society  founded  upon  patriarchal 
and  Confucian  ideas  had  already  been  shaken.  As  far  back  as 
1777  the  first  wind-wafted  seeds  of  the  Roman  form  of  the  faith 
began  to  germinate  in  Corean  soil.  By  the  year  1859  the  wide- 
spreading  and  deeply  rooted  tree  was  able  to  survive  a  prolonged 
storm  of  persecutions,  the  cruelty  of  which  could  be  matched  only 
in  the  annals  of  the  Inquisition.  The  bigotry  that  banned  and  the 
tortures  that  followed  were  the  direct  result  of  a  narrow  Confucian- 
ism. A  Corean  scholar,  Choi,  impressed  with  the  convictions,  zeal, 
and  consecration  of  the  foreign  priests  and  native  Christians,  withal 
astonished  at  their  tremendous  success,  pondered  deeply  as  to 
whether  theirs  might  not  be  the  true  religion.  While  thinking  long 
upon  the  subject,  he  became  ill  even  to  the  point  of  death.  In  a 
trance  he  received  a  revelation  from  God,  whom  he  himself  named, 
after  the  Roman  Catholic  title,  Lord  of  Heaven.  Called,  as  he  be- 
lieved, to  found  a  new  religion,  Choi  forthwith  proceeded,  from  the 
elements  of  the  three  systems  of  Confucius,  Buddha,  and  Lao  Tsze, 
to  compose  a  sacred  book,  and  to  write  the  prayer  which  his  follow- 
ers still  daily  repeat.  Thus  began  a  great  movement  which,  origi- 
nating in  religion,  ended  in  politics,  in  time  degenerating  into  law- 
lessness. It  caused  a  great  uprising  of  the  most  oppressed  people 
on  the  face  of  the  earth,  which  the  feeble  government  at  Seoul 
could  not  suppress.  It  inflamed  Japan  and  China  in  war.  Only  by 
that  new  force  in  modern  history,  the  Japanese  soldier,  was  the 
revolt  quelled. 

The  name  of  this  new  sect  or  party  is  Tong  Hak,  or  Eastern 
Culture.  Its  Great  Sacred  Scripture,  penned  by  Choi,  combines 
what  he  deemed  best  in  the  three  religions  already  known  to  Chinese 
Asia.  In  its  literary  features  this  cultus  bears  likeness  at  many 
points  to  the  Shin  Gaku,  or  Heart-Learning  movement,  which,  in 
Japan  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  was  started  to 


634  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

cleanse  the  abysses  of  Japanese  immorality  and  irreligion.  Eclecti- 
cism in  doctrine,  earnestness  of  conviction,  intensity  of  purpose, 
and  practicality  in  benevolence  marked  both  movements.  The 
Tong  Haks  took  from  the  Chinese  classics'  the  idea  of  the  five 
relations  governing  human  duty,  from  the  sutras  and  shastras  the 
law  of  purity  of  life,  and  from  the  Tao  the  rules  for  cleansing 
the  body  from  lust  and  filth.  One  term  for  the  so-called  Tong  Hak 
Bible  combines  the  names  of  the  three  old  religions,  while  in  the 
title  used  for  the  Deity  in  the  daily  prayer  we  see  the  debt  to 
Roman  Christianity.  The  founder  intended  his  scripture  and  work 
to  be  set  over  against  So  Hak,  or  Western  Culture.  In  Japan  the 
coming  of  Perry  and  the  foreigners  from  Christendom  paled  the 
Shin  Gaku  as  the  sun  drowns  the  taper's  beams  in  daylight.  To 
the  hermits  of  Corea  no  such  morning  dawned. 

Within  six  years  persecution  broke  out,  and  the  founder,  Choi, 
was  charged  with  being  "a  foreign-Corean  "  and  "follower  of  the 
Lord  of  Heaven" — that  is,  a  Roman  Catholic  Christian.  After  trial 
and  torture  he  was  beheaded,  and  his  doctrines  outlawed.  Never- 
theless, the  new  religion  grew  through  a  whole  human  generation, 
winning  many  followers.  At  a  time  of  oppression  and  rapacity, 
extraordinary  even  in  Corea,  it  was  not  astonishing  that  poor 
peasants  should  be  goaded  to  rebellion.  Nerved  by  their  new  zeal, 
they  struck  even  against  authority,  though  abominably  misused,  for 
enough  freedom  to  make  life  tolerable.  Early  in  1893  fifty  fol- 
lowers of  the  Tong  Hak  creed  entered  the  Coreau  capital.  On  a 
table  before  the  palace  gate  they  spread  a  red  cloth,  and  laid 
thereon  a  petition,  praying  that  their  martyred  founder  might 
be  declared  innocent,  receive  posthumous  rank,  be  allowed  a 
monument  in  his  honor,  that  the  ban  on  their  religion  be  re- 
moved, and  that  they  be  put  on  a  political  equality  with  the 
Roman  Catholics.  The  alternative,  if  their  petition  were  rejected, 
was  expressed  in  a  threat  to  expel  all  foreigners  from  the  country. 
The  king  refused  their  prayer.  They  were  driven  away,  and  some  of 
their  local  leaders  arrested. 

No  sooner  had  the  snow  of  the  next  winter  vanished  than  a  wide- 
spread uprising  in  the  southern  provinces  of  Corea  took  place. 
The  military  sent  from  Seoul  in  April  melted  before  the  Tong 
Ilaks  like  frost  in  the  sun.  The  civil  magistrates  were  driven  from 
their  offices,  swift  vengeance  in  many  cases  following  their  horri- 
ble cruelties  in  the  past.  Instead  of  a  few  hundred  zealots  there 


TIIK   \YAlt    \YITU  CHINA.  635 

were  myriads  of  people  in  wild  insurrection,  bent  only  on  destroying 
their  oppressors.  The  May  danger  seemed  to  threaten  the  whole 
kingdom.  The  June  moment  was  critical. 

In  Seoul  the  pro-Chinese  faction  at  court,  then  vastly  out- 
numbering their  moderately  pro-Japanese  rivals,  sent  to  Peking 
for  a  Chinese  force  to  put  down  the  Tong  llak  rebels.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Chino-Japanese  treaty  of  1885  negotiated  by  Li  and 
Ito,  neither  power  was  to  send  armed  men  into  Corea  without  first 
notifying  the  other.  In  violation  of  this  convention,  the  Chinese  sol- 
diers were  first  sent,  and  then  the  Government  at  Tokio  was  notified. 
On  June  7th  China  sent  a  despatch  which  compromised  not  only 
Japan,  but  all  the  treaty  powers  which  had  acknowledged  the 
sovereignty  of  Corea,  by  declaring  her  a  subject  country.  "  It  is 
in  harmony  with  our  constant  practice,"  declared  this  document, 
"to  protect  our  tributary  states  by  sending  our  troops  to  assist 
them.  .  .  .  General  Yeh  has  been  ordered  to  proceed  at  once  to 
Zenra  ...  in  order  to  restore  the  peace  of  our  tributary  state." 
Thus  China,  against  the  world,  reasserted  her  ancient  claim  of 
suzerain  over  Corea  as  a  vassal  state,  and  flung  down  the  gauntlet 
to  Japan,  virtually  bidding  her  to  maintain  her  rights  if  she  could. 
Treaties  being  usually  held  as  sacred,  the  smaller  country  gained, 
even  as  the  larger  forfeited,  the  sympathies  of  the  civilized  world. 

The  Tong  Hak  match  had  fallen  between  two  petroleum  tanks 
that  were  already  leaking.  The  whole  Japanese  people,  through  an 
extraordinary  incident,  which  we  shall  recount,  were  at  this  mo- 
ment on  the  point  of  combustion  and  explosion.  The  Chinese 
despatch  fired  both  rulers  and  people  of  Japan  to  national  con- 
flagration. 

Nine  years  before,  the  attempt  of  the  Corean  Liberals  return- 
ing from  America,  Europe,  and  Japan,  to  effect  a  revolution  in  the 
Government  in  favor  of  modern  civilization  had  failed.  One  of 
them,  Kim  Ok  Kiun,  fleeing  to  Japan,  received  the  same  protection 
which,  under  the  treaties,  would  have  been  granted  to  any -for- 
eigner. During  his  long  residence  he  made  himself  extraordinarily 
popular,  contriving,  also,  to  elude  his  assassins.  At  last,  in  April, 
1 894,  when  lured  to  Shanghai  by  a  false  telegram  and  a  forged 
bank  draft,  he  was  promptly  murdered  by  a  Corean  emissary. 
With  indecent  haste,  and  with  a  barbarism  that  reveals  the  Chinese 
official  character,  the  body  of  the  murdered  man  was  packed  on 
board  of  a  man-of-war  to  be  delivered  up  to  his  real  destroyers 


636  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

in  Seoul,  for  public  mincing,  distribution,  and  exposure.  The  car- 
rion was  duly  displayed  at  the  capital  and  in  the  provinces,  while 
the  assassin  gained  gold  and  won  official  honor. 

The  news  of  this  union  of  Chinese  and  Corean  barbarism  pro- 
duced an  extraordinary  excitement  in  Japan.  To  Government  and 
people  it  seemed  as  if  China  and  her  pupils  in  Corea  had,  with 
unnecessary  ostentation,  flouted  and  insulted  the  newly  adopted 
civilization  of  Japan.  It  is  not  strange  that  the  emperor  and  his 
ministers  decided  that,  with  China's  forcible  reiteration  of  her 
claim  upon  Corea,  following  a  fresh  outbreak  of  barbarism,  and 
backed  as  it  was  by  military  force,  the  line  of  forbearance  had 
been  reached.  The  time  for  the  wager  of  battle  between  two  in- 
compatible civilizations  had  come. 

Down  at  the  bottom  this  Chino-Japanese  war  meant,  in  its 
provocation  and  origin,  the  right  of  a  nation  to  change  its  civil- 
ization. It  is  difficult  for  people  in  the  Occident  to  understand 
the  depth  of  pedantic  polemic  that  underlies  the  estrangement 
between  New  Japan  and  unawakened  China.  For  years  the  idea 
in  Peking  had  been  that  Japan  was  not  only  a  "neighbor-disturb- 
ing nation,"  but  had  been  colossally  wicked  in  discarding  the 
Chinese  calendar,  and  in  turning  away  from  Confucius  and  the 
civilization  of  the  sages  to  adopt  and  assimilate  that  of  Christen- 
dom. What  the  Chinese  residents  of  Yokohama  did  in  1872 — 
tumultuously  engaging  in  public  protest  against  that  change  of 
chronology,  which  in  far-eastern  Asia  means  also  change  in  mental 
attitude,  with  repudiation  of  every  suggestion  of  intellectual  or 
political  vassalage — the  Chinese  Government  has  been  doing  tacitly 
ever  since.  When,  in  1879,  Japan  and  China  were  on  the  verge 
of  war  over  the  question  of  the  ownership  of  the  Riti  Kin  islands, 
the  two  governments,  at  the  suggestion  of  General  U.  S.  Grant, 
agreed  to  settle  the  matter  by  reference  to  a  joint  High  Com- 
mission. Prince  Kung,  with  colleagues,  and  Mr.  Shishido  were  ap- 
pointed as  plenipotentiaries,  and  the  conference  began  at  Peking 
August  15th,  1880.  On  the  21st  of  October,  by  Chinese  official 
notice,  the  Articles  of  Agreement  were  ready  for  signature.  The 
commissioners  indulged  iu  mutual  congratulations,  and  agreed  to 
sign  the  instruments  ten  days  later,  when  lo !  on  the  17th  of 
November,  sixteen  days  after  the  date  fixed,  the  Emperor  of  China 
turned  the  whole  affair  into  a  burlesque.  In  a  word,  his  majesty 
virtually  cancelled  the  commission  of  the  plenipotentiaries,  trans- 


THE  WAR    WITH  CHINA.  637 

fcrring  their  function  in  a  modified  and  incomplete  form  to  "the 
Northern  and  Southern  Superintendents  of  Trade."  The  profes- 
sion which  the  Chinese  Government  made  in  conferring  full 
powers  upon  any  one  but  the  emperor  was  an  empty  farce. 

After  such  an  experience,  the  Japanese  statesmen  were  not  likely 
to  be  lured  into  another  similar  humiliation.  Furthermore,  since 
in  the  unhappy  Corean  affair  of  1885,  in  which  the  Japanese  Lega- 
tion guard  of  ninescore  men  had  been  attacked  by  fifteen  hun- 
dred Chinese  troops  —  one-half  of  the  three  thousand  which  had 
been  encamped  near  Seoul  —  the  mikado's  ministers  were  fore- 
warned by  experience  not  again  to  be  caught  napping.  Hence,  on 
the  12th  of  June,  1894,  Japan,  asserting  her  treaty  rights,  replied 
to  China,  announcing  the  despatch  of  a  body  of  troops  under  strict- 
est discipline  to  Corea. 

The  next  step,  five  days  later,  was  highly  creditable  to  the  gov- 
ernment which  had  made  the  first  treaty  with  Corea.  It  was  an 
invitation  from  Japan  to  China  to  undertake  jointly  some  needed 
reforms,  financial  and  administrative,  in  the  peninsular  state,  in 
order  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  East.  This  offer  was  curtly 
refused,  China  demanding  the  immediate  withdrawal  of  the  Jap- 
anese troops.  Japan's  reply  was  that,  pending  an  amicable  settle- 
ment of  the  questions  in  dispute,  any  further  despatch  of  Chi- 
nese troops  into  Corea  would  mean  war.  China,  having  already 
chartered  the  Row-Shiny,  a  British  transport,  filled  it  with  soldiers 
and  despatched  it  to  A-San,  a  well-fortified  camp  in  a  peninsula 
formed  by  two  rivers  flowing  into  Prince  Jerome  Gulf,  some  forty 
miles  southwest  of  Seoul.  At  the  same  time  the  Tartar  forces  in 
Manchurm  began  the  march  overland  to  Corea. 

All  this,  through  their  spies,  regular  servants,  and  the  telegraph, 
the  Tokio  Government  knew  well.  Resolving  once  for  all  to  settle 
the  long  string  of  questions  inherited  from  the  past;  to  break  the 
power  of  Chinese  insolence,  and  if  possible  shatter  the  old  Chinese 
world  of  ideas,  with  its  perpetual  menace  of  implied  or  explicit 
claim  of  supremacy  ;  to  compel  the  elimination  of  Corea  as  a  factor 
of  disturbance  in  the  affairs  of  the  Far  East ;  to  assert  her  imper- 
illed rights  and  dignity  ;  to  make  proof  of  her  duty  and  power  to 
graduate  from  foreign  tutelage  and  dependence  ;  to  reveal  to  her 
own  people  their  power  in  union,  and  to  impress  the  world  with  her 
ability  to  hold  and  maintain  her  place  as  equal  among  the  great 
nations  of  the  world,  Japan  called  forth  her  military  strength. 


638  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

With  a  secrecy,  order,  precision,  celerity,  and  punctuality  incredi- 
ble, except  to  those  who,  as  helpers  and  friends,  had  lived  inside 
the  country,  away  from  the  seaports,  Japan  landed  first  a  brigade 
and  then  an  army  corps  at  Chemulpo.  Her  engineers  completed,  in 
twenty  minutes,  a  pontoon  -  bridge  over  the  Han  River.  Within 
twelve  days  after  orders  received  in  camp  in  Japan  a  military  cor- 
don had  been  drawn  around  Seoul,  in  Corea.  On  the  23d  of  July, 
after  a  skirmish  in  front  of  the  palace  between  the  military  escort 
of  the  Japanese  minister,  Mr.  Hoshi  Torn,  and  some  pro-Chinese 
native  troops,  the  question  of  Corea's  independence  and  willingness 
to  stand  by  her  treaty  was  answered  by  the  king  in  the  affirmative. 

On  the  water  the  Chinese  were  the  first  aggressors,  the  Chen- 
yuen  firing  on  the  Naniwa.  The  Chinese  troops  on  the  transport 
Kow-Sliing,  not  knowing  or  unwilling  to  believe  that  the  Japanese 
had  adopted  civilized  rules  of  warfare,  refused  to  surrender.  After 
keeping  his  signals  flying  four  hours,  and  these  armed  men  refusing 
to  surrender,  the  captain  of  the  Naniwa  quickly  sank  the  transport. 
This  was  on  July  25th.  Four  days  later  General  Oshima's  mixed 
brigade  moved  out  from  Seoul,  and  after  a  battle  at  Song-kwan,  in 
which  the  brave  Major  Matsusaki  lost  his  life,  A-San  was  occupied 
July  30th,  and  the  Chinese  driven  back  from  their  stronghold.  The 
declaration  of  war  came  from  the  Japanese  emperor  on  August  1st, 
in  a  document  strikingly  clear  in  phrase  and  temperate  in  tone. 

The  reinforcements  despatched  by  way  of  Gensan,  as  well  as 
Chemulpo,  formed  with  the  pioneer  regiments  the  First  Army.  As 
"  geography  is  half  of  war,"  it  was  matter  of  foreordination  and 
necessity  that  the  decisive  battle  should  in  A.D.  1894  be  fought 
just  where  the  decisive  battles  in  Corean  annals  always 'had  been 
fought — at  Ping  Yang.  Here,  three  centuries  before,  Konishi  had 
lost  a  battle  and  retreated  southward  before  an  overwhelming  Ming 
and  Tartar  host.  Now  the  pendulum  of  history,  despite  forty  days' 
time  for  defence  and  fortification  by  the  Chinese,  was  to  swing  to 
reverse  effect. 

The  Chinese  declaration  of  war — a  new  thing  in  the  history  of 
the  Middle  Kingdom,  showing  strikingly  the  progress  of  interna- 
tional law — was  also  dated  August  1st,  and  was  characteristic  of 
mandarins  who  were  not  yet  willing  either  to  learn  or  to  forget. 
From  beginning  to  end  the  writing  displayed  utter  ignorance  of 
the  enemy  to  be  fought  and  the  work  to  be  done.  It  was  declared 
that  the  Wo-jen,  or  pygmies  (Japanese),  had,  "  without  any  cause 


THE    \VA/t    WITH  CHINA.  039 

whatever,"  invaded  "  onr  small  tributary;"  that  Japan  had  "vio- 
lated the  treaties,"  and  was  "running  rampant  with  her  false  and 
treacherous  actions,"  while  "  we  [China]  have  always  followed  the 
paths  of  philanthropy  and  perfect  justice."  The  Chinese  braves 
were  called  upon  to  "  hasten  with  all  speed  to  root  the  Wo-jen  out 
of  their  lairs."  A  comparatively  small  number  of  really  disciplined 
soldiers,  armed  and  drilled  in  the  European  manner,  was,  with  the 
usual  mob  of  native  military,  hurried  forward  to  Ping  Yang,  which, 
aided  by  the  fugitives  from  A-San,  they  began  to  fortify. 

China  actually  went  to  war  without  a  hospital  corps,  or  any  or- 
ganization of  surgeons,  nurses,  or  accommodations  for  the  wounded 
or  sick  worthy  of  the  name.  Except  detachments  from  Li  Hung 
Chang's  private  army,  very  few  of  the  Chinese  officers  or  men  had 
been  educated  in  modern  tactics.  In  their  equipment  all  sorts  of 
prehistoric  accoutrements — flags,  banners,  umbrellas,  and  fans — 
were  mingled  with  modern  imported  weapons,  in  a  medley  which  re- 
sembled the  diplomacy  of  Peking.  On  the  other  hand,  besides  a 
thoroughly  well-officered,  armed,  drilled,  equipped,  and  provisioned 
army  of  fifty  thousand  young  men,  the  flower  of  the  Japanese  na- 
tion, the  Tokio  Government  was  able  to  call  out  for  service  a  reserve 
of  one  hundred  thousand  strong  and  healthy  patriots,  burning  with 
enthusiasm  and  familiar  with  the  weapons,  machinery,  and  practice 
of  modern  war.  Furthermore,  besides  her  numerous  public  and  pri- 
vate hospitals,  her  splendid  medical  field-corps,  her  four  hundred 
surgeons  and  pharmacists,  and  her  fourteen  hundred  trained  nurses, 
she  had  an  efficient  Red  Cross  society.  Immediately  both  the  nation 
and  the  government  began  the  organization  and  consolidation  of  all 
public  and  private  resources  in  order  to  strike  as  a  unit.  At  home 
and  abroad  all  sons  and  daughters  of  Nippon  vied  in  diligence  and 
sacrifice  for  the  efficient  carrying  on  of  the  war,  and  for  securing 
the  comfort  of  the  soldiers  at  the  front. 

The  secrets  of  Japanese  success  are  patent  to  the  student.  In 
such  a  time  as  this,  life  for  the  average  man  in  Nippon  is  worth 
living.  With  a  flaming  patriotism  that  surprises  Europeans  who 
have  imagined  the  Japanese  to  be  only  average  Asiatics  and  mere 
imitators,  all  classes,  sexes,  and  ages  rallied  intelligently  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  national  cause.  A  quarter  of  a  century  ago  Japan  was 
the  hot-bed  of  caste,  monopoly,  and  privilege.  These  seemed  to 
crush  out  every  germ  of  popular  liberty  and  ambition.  Even  the 
proverbial  politeness  and  submissiveness  of  the  Japanese  common 


640  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

people  is  in  large  part  the  result  of  ages  of  military  despotism. 
To-day,  with  the  soil  virtually  in  the  hands  of  the  people  who  cul 
tivate  it ;  the  courts  open  to  all  who  seek  even-handed  justice ; 
schools  and  education  free  to  every  one;  military  privilege  no 
longer  the  prerogative  of  a  special  class;  the  existence  of  pariahs 
no  more  than  a  memory  ;  government  becoming  more  national  and 
representative ;  democracy  making  strides  every  day,  with  little  or 
nothing  to  hinder  the  advance  of  the  individual  in  every  line  of 
human  achievement,  it  is  not  strange  to  see  a  whole  nation  rising 
up  in  an  outburst  of  intensest  energy.  Self-sacrifice,  loyalty,  and 
patriotism,  with  an  unquenchable  ambition  to  humble  China,  to 
impress  the  whole  world,  and  to  make  their  country  great,  char- 
acterize the  Japanese  of  A.D.  1895.  In  this  war  they  have  irrev- 
ocably committed  themselves  to  cosmopolitan  as  against  Chinese 
or  merely  ethnic  principles. 

The  sympathies  of  those  who  began,  even  twenty-five  years  ago, 
to  help  in  making  the  New  Japan  have  been  from  the  first  with 
the  smaller  country.  Their  seat  of  observation  has  not  been  the 
fence,  in  order  to  be  sure,  before  applauding,  which  side  would 
win.  Seeing  so  clearly  that  the  Japanese  were  triply  armed  in  hav- 
ing their  quarrel  just,  and  knowing  their  earnestness,  their  former 
teachers  and  helpers  not  only,  but  Americans  in  general,  have  not 
been  surprised  at  the  swift  success  of  the  armies  under  the  sun- 
banner.  They  have  not  wondered  at  the  tenacity  and  staying 
power  of  the  soldier-lads,  or  at  the  sustained  ability  and  serious- 
ness of  statesmen  and  generals,  and  their  power  of  mastering  the 
secrets  and  applying  the  forces  of  Western  civilization.  IB  the 
campaign  of  1894  the  Japanese  were  no  longer  pupils.  They 
went  to  war  not  only  without  foreign  aids  or  advisers,  but  in 
clothes,  arms,  and  ships  made  in  large  part  by  themselves. 

Almost  simultaneously  the  supremacy  of  Japan  on  both  sea  and 
land  was  demonstrated.  The  future  historian  will  mark  two  days 
of  September  as  the  dates  of  battles  that  decided  the  future  of 
Eastern  Asia.  On  the  15th,  at  Ping  Yang,  General  Nodzu,  attacking 
in  front,  on  the  flanks,  and  in  the  rear,  broke  up  the  Chinese  army. 
Within  a  fortnight  every  Chinese  soldier  had  been  driven  out  of 
Corea.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  Yalu  River,  on  the  17th,  the  first 
great  conflict  between  fleets  of  steel  -  armored  ships  took  place. 
The  cruisers  of  Japan,  unevenly  matched  against  the  Chinese  battle- 
ships and  men-of-war  from  noon  to  sunset,  so  decided  the  issue 


THE  WAR   WITH  CHINA.  641 

that  the  dragon-flag  was  not  again  mirrored  on  the  deep  in  pres- 
ence of  the  sun-banner.  Then  followed  the  brilliant  Manchtirian 
campaign,  in  which  the  First  Army  won  an  almost  unbroken  series 
of  victories,  holding,  in  April,  1895,  Chinese  territory  vastly  greater 
in  area  than  the  Japanese  Empire.  Neither  snow  and  ice  nor 
exposure  and  hardship  seem  in  any  way  to  cool  the  ardor  of  the 
young  Japanese  conscripts. 

The  Second  Army,  under  Field-Marshal  Oyama,  was  despatched 
to  Port  Arthur.  This  vast  fortress  had,  after  twenty  years  of  toil, 
been  fortified  at  a  cost  of  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  After 
bombardment  by  the  fleet  on  the  sea  -  front,  and  attack  by  the 
land  forces  in  the  rear,  beginning  before  the  dawn  on  the  21st  of 
November,  the  town,  forts,  and  ships  were  captured  within  ten 
hours.  The  glory  of  the  victors  was  dimmed  by  an  outbreak  of 
cruelty,  the  reports  of  which,  however,  were  highly  exaggerated  in 
the  newspapers  of  America  and  Europe. 

The  Third  Army  was  despatched  to  Wei-Hai-Wei,  to  reduce  the 
fortress  guarding  the  southern  entrance  to  the  Gulf  of  Pechili. 
After  brilliant  naval  and  land  operations,  this  stronghold  passed 
under  the  Japanese  flag  January  31st,  1895.  The  remaining  ships 
of  the  Chinese  northern  fleet  were  captured,  sunk,  or  destroyed. 
With  both  sea-gates  defending  the  capital  broken  down,  the  Japan- 
ese fleet  soon  appeared  before  the  Taku  forts.  Another  expedition, 
despatched  to  Formosa,  captured  the  fortifications  in  the  Pesca- 
dores Islands,  bombarded  Tai-wan,  and  made  a  landing  upon  the 
main  island. 

From  the  first  outbreak  of  the  war,  but  especially  after  her  mul- 
tiplying reverses,  China  attempted,  as  suppliant,  to  secure  sym- 
pathy, practical  mediation,  and  direct  help  from  the  governments 
of  Europe.  This  policy  showed  a  vast  change  from  that  of  ancient 
days,  and  a  reverse  of  attitude  that  seems  astounding.  The  inher- 
ent weakness  of  the  geographical  colossus  was  exposed.  In  area 
and  population  immense,  a  venerable  patriarchal  system  but  scarcely 
a  political  entity,  the  sham  collapsed,  and  the  truth  about  China  is 
now  known  to  the  world.  Neither  mere  bulk  nor  blind  numbers, 
however  great,  are  anything,  and  with  her  rhinoceros-crust  of  con- 
ceit pierced  by  the  Murata  rifle,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  China  will  be 
the  gainer  because  of  her  bitter  experience.  Slow,  however,  in 
learning  their  lesson,  the  Peking  mandarins  tried  to  gain  time  and 
secure  a  favorable  place  in  the  line  of  indirection.  In  November, 


C42  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

1894,  she  sent  a  foreigner,  Mr.  G.  Dietring,  her  faithful  servant  in 
the  customs  service,  as  peace  envoy  to  Japan.  As  a  matter  of  de- 
cency and  of  course  the  mikado's  ministers  did  not  receive  him. 
Then,  through  offers  of  mediation  from  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  the  Peking  Government  pretended  to  send  two 
plenipotentiaries,  Messrs.  Chang  and  Shao,  who,  despite  lofty  titles, 
were  in  reality  only  very  limited  subordinates.  They  arrived  at 
Hiroshima  January  31st,  1895.  Their  credentials  when  examined 
showed  that  they  had  no  powers  to  settle  terms  of  peace.  After 
her  experience  of  China's  behavior  in  the  diplomacy  of  the  Riu 
Kiu  affair  in  1879,  Japan  resolved  not  again  to  be  duped.  The 
two  Chinese  envoys  with  their  suite  of  twenty-four  other  persons, 
including  one  honored  American  statesman  and  adviser,  were  po- 
litely sent  home  to  their  master.  Throughout,  Japan  acted  upon 
the  principle  expressed  by  Premier  Ito,  "The  usages  peculiar  to 
China  must  give  way  to  and  be  ruled  by  the  canons  of  Inter- 
national Law." 

In  their  third  attempt  to  gain  time,  advantage,  and  peace  the 
Tsung  Li  Yamen  acted  with  honesty.  The  emperor,  recalling  from 
disgrace,  real  or  nominal,  Li  Hung  Chang,  despatched  him  with 
full  powers  to  Japan.  At  the  historic  city  of  Shimonoseki  the 
peace  conference  was  opened  March  21st.  The  first  request  of  Li 
was  for  an  armistice,  which  at  first  was  refused.  On  Sunday, the  24th 
of  March,  a  fanatical  soshi,  attempting  to  assassinate  the  venerable 
Chinaman,  fired  a  pistol,  the  bullet  of  which  lodged  in  the  cheek  of 
the  envoy.  Thus  again  the  old  murderous  spirit  which  has  so  re- 
peatedly stained  Japan's  record — the  same  spirit  in  which  the 
ruffian  ronins  used  to  cut  down  unsuspecting  foreigners  from  be- 
hind, which  has  again  and  again  butchered  ministers  of  the  Govern- 
ment, which  has  disgraced  the  nation  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  by 
the  insult  and  attempted  murder  even  of  the  nation's  guests,  which 
has  made  a  river  of  blood  fiow  through  her  history,  which  is  the 
exponent  of  one  of  her  greatest  dangers,  and  which  may  yet 
deluge  her  soil  with  an  inundation  of  sanguinary  anarchy — broke 
forth. 

May  8th,  the  date  appointed  to  exchange  ratifications  of  the  Shi- 
monoseki treaty  at  Chifu,  China,  was  an  auspicious  one.  On  that  day 
in  1853  Perry's  squadron  lay  at  first  morning  anchor  off  Yokohama. 
On  May  8,  1858,  Townsend  Harris  and  the  shogun's  commissioners 
completed  in  Yedo  the  negotiations  that  opened  Japan  to  light, 


THE  WAR   WITH   CHINA.  643 

science,  and  the  gospel,  introducing  missionaries,  teachers,  physi- 
cians, and  merchants,  and  making  possible  to  Japan  her  new  career. 
On  this  same  day  in  1895,  in  the  era  of  Meiji,  or  enlightened  appro- 
priation of  Western  ideas,  Japan  obtained  from  China,  as  the  results 
of  her  forty  years'  training  and  eight  months'  war: 

The  independence  of  Corea  ; 

Permanent  cession  of  Formosa  ; 

Opening  of  China  to  manufactures  and  commerce  ; 

Cash  indemnity  to  cover  cost  of  the  war. 

The  question  of  the  release  of  Manchurian  territory  occupied  by 
Japanese  troops  was  settled  in  such  a  way  as  to  gain  the  good-will 
of  Europe  and  avert  war  with  Russia  while  satisfying  China. 

Formosa,  first  discovered  and  occupied  by  Japanese  in  the  thir- 
teenth and  fourteenth  centuries,  is  geologically  and  ethnically  a 
part  of  Dai  Nippon.  Under  Japanese  rule,  and  probably  within  a 
generation,  its  interior  will  cease  to  be  a  lair  of  savages  and  its 
coasts  a  haunt  of  pirates,  the  whole  island  being  opened  to  the 
world's  commerce.  Within  four  days  of  the  signed  treaty,  the 
mikado  appointed  the  military  and  civil  administrators  of  Formosa. 
The  island  chain  of  Tei  Koku  Nippon  now  extends  through  nearly 
thirty  degrees  of  latitude.  Fronting  Asia  and  its  conquered  na- 
tions, independent  Japan  now  calls  a  halt  to  European  aggression. 
Amid  Spanish,  British,  French,  Russian,  and  Chinese  neighbors, 
she  means  to  hold  her  own.  Can  she  do  it  ? 

Aside  from  the  extraordinary  manifestations  of  popular  joy  called 
forth  on  account  of  the  "silver  wedding"  of  their  imperial  majes- 
ties the  emperor  and  empress,  the  year  1894  will  stand  in  history 
as  that  in  which  Japan  received  justice  at  the  hands  of  Western 
powers.  All  the  treaties  allowing  foreign  trade  and  residence, 
except  the  one  negotiated  with  Mexico  in  1890,  have  been  either 
based  on,  or  debased  from,  that  instrument  made  by  Townsend 
Harris  in  1858,  who  expected  revision  to  take  place  in  1872.  He, 
mourning  over  conditions  then  necessary  and  at  first  beneficial,  but ' 
which  when  perpetuated  became  wrongs,  but  hoping  to  see  justice 
done,  died  without  the  sight.*  After  twenty-two  years  of  agita- 
tion and  the  wreck  of  three  cabinets,  Great  Britain,  in  a  new  treaty 


*  See  the  biography  and  journal  of  his  residence  in  Japan  (1856-1802)  in  the 
book  "  Townsend  Harris,  First  American  Envoy  in  Jupun,"  by  William  Elliot 
Griffis:  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston,  1895. 


644  THE  MIKADOES  EMPIRE. 

signed  August  26tli  by  Lord  Kimbcrly  and  Viscount  Mutsu,  virt- 
ually recognized  Japan  as  an  equal.  The  new  American  treaty 
received  the  signatures  of  Secretary  Gresham  and  Minister  Kurino 
November  22d,  and  was  ratified  by  the  United  States  Senate  Decem- 
ber 28th. 

Whatever  be  the  issues  of  the  Chino-Japanese  war  of  1894-'95, 
probably  the  most  significant  in  its  influences  of  the  Asiatic  wars 
of  many  centuries,  it  is  evident  that  after  peace  Japan's  real  diffi- 
culties begin  and  her  greatest  problems  come  up  for  solution. 
The  conflict  between  clan  government  and  the  whole  nation,  and 
between  the  Ministry  and  the  Diet  is  yet  to  be  fought  out.  Further- 
more, the  trend  towards  democracy  is  unmistakable,  and  the  perils 
of  militarism  are  real.  The  impending  revolution  in  industry  is  likely 
not  only  to  modify,  even  to  destruction,  much  of  her  beautiful  land- 
scape, but  threatens  to  annihilate  many  things  that  are  lovely  and 
charming  in  the  life  of  her  people.  The  building  of  the  factory, 
the  introduction  of  machinery,  and  the  rearrangement  of  industrial 
forces  and  combinations  will  sow  seed  for  fresh  crops  of  difficulty 
which  only  great  wisdom  and  vast  increase  of  moral  power  can 
overcome. 

Instead  of  easy  conquest  in  Formosa,  four  months'  fighting  was 
necessary.  The  resistance  of  natives  and  Chinese,  in  mountain, 
forest,  and  walled  towns,  was  more  despe-ate  than  in  Manchuria. 
The  final  stand  of  the  rebel  army,  which  had  been  aided  by  manda- 
rins in  China  and  led  by  Liu,  was  made  in  the  south  at  Pang-Liau. 
Their  fleet  co-operating,  the  Japanese  mustered,  late  in  September, 
a  force  which  compelled  unconditional  surrender.  The  whole  island 
was  pacified  by  December  1st.  About  135,000  men  in  all  services 
were  employed  by  Japan,  and  the  losses,  including  one  imperial 
prince,  were  greater  in  Formosa  than  in  the  campaigns  in  Corea  and 
China,  in  which  340,000  men  were  occupied,  of  whom  fewer  than  1000 
were  killed  outright.  The  Chinese  prisoners  taken  on  the  continent 
were  sent  home,  equipped  with  cork  legs  and  artificial  arms  and 
hands. 

No  part  of  the  mainland  of  Asia  belongs  to  Dai  Nippon.  Accord- 
ing to  the  treaty  signed  at  Peking,  November  llth,  1895,  Japan  evac- 
uated Liao  Tung  December  25th,  and  China  has  already  paid  part 
of  the  indemnity  of  30,000,000  Knping  taels  ($150,000,000)  agreed 
upon.  Spain,  evidently  fearing  lest  Japanese  ambition  should 
threaten  the  Philippines,  called  for  a  treaty,  which  was  ratified  in 


THE    WAR    WITH  CHINA  645 

Tokio,  August  7th,  1895.  In  the  middle  of  the  navigable  part  of 
Bashee  channel,  the  line  is  drawn  which  divides  Japanese  from 
Spanish  Asia.  With  the  Middle  Kingdom,  Dai  Nippon's  relations 
have  been  friendly,  though  for  other  than  political  reasons  the  de- 
velopment of  Japanese  enterprise  and  the  investment  of  Japanese 
capital  in  new  industries  located  on  Chinese  soil  have  been  post- 
poned. Whether  Japan  has  the  ability  to  govern  conquered  peo- 
ples, or  deal  wisely  with  former  tributaries  like  the  Coreans,  is 
yet  to  be  proved.  Formosa  will  tax  her  resources  of  statesmanship. 
Its  large  population  is  of  a  mixed  and  refractory  sort,  and  opium- 
smoking  and  other  obnoxious  customs  are  inveterate ;  nor  is  it  easy 
to  make  good  Japanese  out  of  Chinese.  Coreans  show  little  grati- 
tude to  their  saviors  from  China's  oppression;  but  it  cannot  be  said 
that  any  honor  has  accrued  to  the  Japanese  name  from  the  disgraceful 
episode  of  October  8th,  1  895,  in  which  the  royal  palace  in  Seoul  was 
forced  by  Japanese  filibusters,  who  murdered  Queen  Min  and  then 
with  petroleum  set  fire  to  her  corpse.  They  were  assisted  by  sol- 
diers of  the  mikado's  army  acting  under  the  knowledge  of  his  envoy, 
Miura.  To  the  surprise  of  the  civilized  world,  the  conspirators  when 
tried  in  Japan  were  acquitted. 

With  European  governments  the  relations  of  Japan  seem  to  be 
of  increasing  friendliness.  Despite  the  prophecies  that  war  between 
Russia  and  Japan  must  be  near  at  hand — a  newspaper  syndicate  for 
the  gathering  and  distribution  of  news  during  the  coming  war  having 
been  already  formed — the  two  nations  keep  at  peace.  The  mikado's 
representatives  at  the  czar's  coronation  were  an  imperial  prince 
and  Field-marshal  Yamagata.  The  supplementary  convention  on  the 
tariff  between  Japan  and  Great  Britain  was  ratified  in  Tokio,  Novem- 
ber 21st,  1895.  To  the  delight  of  all  students  of  Japanese  history 
and  literature,  Sir  Ernest  Mason  Satow,  was  appointed  British  Minis- 
ter to  Japan,  and  arrived  July  28th,  1895.  The  emperor,  after  a  stay 
of  two  hundred  days  at  Hiroshima,  returned  to  the  capital  during  the 
summer's  celebration  of  Kioto's  eleven  hundredth  anniversary. 

The  year  1896  will  ever  be  remembered  as  one  of  glory  and 
gloom,  light  and  shadow,  of  bright  hopes  and  awful  disasters.  In 
population  the  empire  had,  including  Formosa,  45,000,000  souls. 
The  budget  for  1896  places  receipts  at  138,000,000  and  the  expendi- 
ture at  152,000,000  of  silver  yen,  the  deficiency  to  be  raised  by  fresh 
taxation.  Roughly  speaking,  Government  expenditure  is  double  what 
it  was  before  the  war.  Nevertheless,  the  Diet  which  closed  March 


646  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE 

29th  was  harmonious  and  useful,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
out  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  Government  bills,  including  one 
appropriation  of  4,000,000  yen  for  a  steel  foundery,  were  passed. 
Count  Itagaki,  the  leader  of  the  Radical  party,  which  had  been  in  al- 
liance with  the  Government,  entered  the  cabinet  as  Minister  of  Home 
Affairs.  After  much  perturbation  and  threatened  changes,  the  cab- 
inet was  reconstructed  in  September,  1896,  by  the  resignation  of 
Marquis  Ito,  who  was  succeeded  by  a  Satsuma  statesman,  Matsugata. 

The  first  task  of  the  new  "  coalition  "  cabinet  was  to  effect  refor- 
mation in  the  national  finances,  and  especially  to  change  the  mone- 
tary standard  from  silver  to  gold.  At  the  tenth  session  of  the  Diet 
a  bill,  introduced  February  3d,  was  passed  March  23,  1897,  which 
ordained  that  the  new  coinage  of  gold  yen  should  come  into  circu- 
lation October  1st,  and  that  the  old  silver  yen  should  cease  to  be 
legal  tender  at  face  value  after  March  31,  1898.  This  measure  has 
been  consummated  without,  apparently,  the  least  disturbance  to  the 
trade,  manufactures,  or  commerce  of  the  Empire.  The  Diet  closed 
a  session  of  singular  harmony  on  March  24,  1897,  having  passed 
88  out  of  the  103  government  bills  and  17  out  of  57  private  bills. 
The  general  trend  of  legislation  is  towards  the  increase  of  popular 
comfort.  Privileges  are  rapidly  becoming  rights.  By  the  passage 
of  one  act,  the  freedom  of  the  press  has  been  greatly  enlarged.  No 
newspaper  can  now  be  suspended  except  after  an  action  in  court. 

During  the  brief  life  of  the  Matsugata  cabinet,  of  which  Itagaki 
and  Okutna  were  members,  the  latter  resigning,  November  6,  1897, 
in  favor  of  Baron  Nishi,  death  claimed  several  illustrious  victims. 
The  Empress-Dowager,  widow  of  the  Mikado  Komei,  who  never 
adopted  modern  dress  or  fashions,  died  January  11,  1897.  Her 
funeral  in  Kioto  was  a  costly  reproduction  of  archaic  pomp  and 
ritual.  One  hour  was  consumed  in  lowering  her  coffin  into  the 
grave.  To  recent  losses  in  the  Imperial  Household,  the  name  of  Prince 
Yamasbina  must  be  added  to  those  of  Arisugawa  and  Kita-Shira- 
kawa.  Yamashina  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  Court  to  advocate 
the  opening  of  Japan  to  foreign  intercourse,  and  he  arranged  the 
first  reception  by  the  mikado  of  foreign  envoys.  He  died  in  Kioto, 
March  17,  1898,  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty -three.  Many  patrons  or 
pioneers  of  Japan's  modern  culture  have  recently  passed  away, 
among  them  Professor  Mitsukuri,  one  of  a  family  highly  gifted 
by  nature ;  Count  Mutsu,  formerly  minister  at  Washington,  on 
September  24th;  Lieutenant  -  General  Yamaji,  the  hero  of  Port 


THE  WAR   WITH  CHINA  647 

Arthur,  in  October,  1897;  Vice-Admiral  Tsuboi,  commander  of  the 
flying  squadron  at  the  battle  of  the  Yalu,  on  January  3lst;  and 
Major-General  Kawakami,  on  February  4,  1898. 

Greatest  in  moral  force  of  all  the  European  foreigners  who  in 
any  century  came  to  Japan  was  Guido  Fridolin  Verbeck.  This 
man,  without  a  country,  having  no  citizenship  on  earth,  was'  the 
teacher,  guide,  adviser,  and  friend  of  the  statesmen  of  1868.  He 
it  was  who  suggested  and  planned  the  world  -  embassy  of  1872. 
After  nearly  forty  years  of  service  of  God  and  his  fellows  in  Japan, 
he  laid  down  the  burden  and  the  joy  of  life,  March  10,  1898.  He 
was  the  ablest  alien  speaker  of  the  Japanese  tongue,  and  the  transla- 
tor of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  probably  the  best  work  ever  done  by  a 
foreigner  into  the  vernacular  of  Nippon.  He  held  from  the  govern- 
ment the  freedom  of  the  Empire,  and  the  expenses  of  his  funeral 
were  defrayed  by  the  emperor. 

The  aesthetic  genius  and  capacity  for  delight  in  the  Japanese  are 
frequently  shown  in  their  commemoration  of  decisive  events.  These 
festal  celebrations  are  usually  in  the  Western  manner,  while  the 
things  native,  old,  and  historic  are  reproduced  for  decorative  effect. 
Examples  are  seen  in  the  immense  arcade  of  Kiri  leaves  (p.  67)  on 
the  return  of  the  emperor  from  Hiroshima,  and  in  the  special  issue  of 
14,000,000  portrait  postage-stamps  in  two  colors  and  four  denomi- 
nations commemorating  the  princes  Arisugawa  and  Kita-Shirakawa 
— though  these  shocked  the  taste  and  conscience  of  more  than  one 
postmaster  called  upon  to  cancel  them  by  stamping.  At  the  thir- 
tieth anniversary,  in  October,  1897,  of  the  opening  of  Kobe  as  a 
treaty  port,  and  on  March  10,  1898,  of  Tokio  as  the  imperial  capi- 
tal, the  old  and  the  new  pageants,  with  their  striking  industrial 
features,  divided  public  appreciation.  The  national  "  yell,"  or  cheer, 
for  army,  navy,  and  people,  is  now  "  Banzai !  Banzai !"  ([May  the 
mikado  live]  ten  thousand  generations).  Significant  of  the  unity  of 
Japan  is  the  erection  of  a  new  and  imposing  monument  to  Hide- 
yoshi,  the  Taiko,  in  Kioto,  with  great  popular  rejoicings. 

The  problem  of  national  finance  has  been  made  very  serious  by 
the  vast  military  and  naval  expansion  since  the  war  with  China  and 
the  increase  of  European  aggressions  and  possessions  in  the  far 
East.  It  proved  too  much  for  the  Matsugata  cabinet,  hampered  as 
it  was  with  vexatious  inheritances.  Japanese  party  government  has 
as  yet  few  elements  of  stability.  The  Diet  which  gathered  for  its 
eleventh  session  December  27,  1897,  was  dissolved  by  imperial 


648  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE 

rescript  on  the  28th,  just  as  a  vote  of  censure  of  the  cabinet  was 
being  offered.  The  ministers  resigned  and  a  general  election  was 
ordered.  Ito.  "  the  Father  of  the  Constitution,"  was  called  on  for 
the  fourth  time  to  form  a  government.  In  the  new  cabinet  we  note 
the  names  of  Saigo,  Inouye,  Yoshikawa,  Saionji,  Katsura,  Kaneko, 
Suyematsu,  and  Sono — a  happy  blending  of  new  and  old  elements, 
yet  apparently  without  relation  to  political  parties.  The  result  of 
the  genera]  election  shows  a  majority  hostile  to  the  government. 
Nevertheless  three  strong  measures  of  the  Ito  cabinet  tend  to  na- 
tional strength.  They  are  the  reductions  in  Inouye's  budget ;  the 
increase  of  Japanese,  and  the  lowering  of  Russian  prestige  in  Corea ; 
and  substantial  diplomatic  gains  and  industrial  concessions  in  China. 
The  Diet  convened  May  14th,  1898,  and  passed  the  Civil  Code  and 
Supplementary  Budget  bills.  The  Lower  House  having  rejected  a 
bill  to  increase  the  land  tax,  the  Diet  was  dissolved  June  12  ;  the  new 
elections  in  November,  1898,  have  this  burning  question  for  issue. 

There  is  much  discussion  by  word  of  mouth  and  In  print  concern- 
ing a  possible  Anglo-Japanese  alliance.  Interesting  statistics  in  view 
of  this  contingency  are:  the  navy  of  1898,  with  its  50  men-of-war, 
3  being  large  battle-ships,  and  its  30  torpedo-boats ;  the  fleet  of 
the  Nippon  Yusen  Kaisha,  with  its  78  steamers  afloat  or  building ; 
the  army  of  255,000  men  ;  the  Red  Cross  Society  of  455,638  mem- 
bers; the  3000  miles  of  railway;  the  45,000,000  people,  and  the 
estimated  wealth  of  the  Japanese  Empire  at  10,000,000,000,000  yen. 
New  legations  in  Siam,  Hawaii,  Peru,  and  Brazil,  and  consulates 
at  Chicago,  Sydney,  and  Antwerp,  show  Japan's  expansion  abroad. 

Which  country  will  be  Japan's  neighbor  on  the  south — Spain  or 
the  United  States  ?  Japan's  bulk  of  trade  is  with  English-speaking 
peoples.  On  January  3, 1898,  Commodore  George  Dewey  hoisted 
his  pennant  on  the  Olympia  at  Yokohama.  By  his  destruction  of 
the  Spanish  fleet  at  Manila  he  has  powerfully  helped  to  bring  the 
United  States  to  the  parting  of  the  ways  between  past  and  future 
policy  regarding  the  world  outside  of  the  two  Americas.  When 
the  Spaniards  were  expelled  from  Japan  early  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, a  new  nation  was  beginning  between  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  To-day  that  nation  in  its  maturity,  having 
first  welcomed  Japan  into  the  sisterhood  of  the  world,  has  become 
her  next-door  neighbor. 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  549 


VI. 

FACING  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY. 

THE  extension  of  the  United  States  in  the  central  and  western 
Pacific,  in  1898,  gave  the  Americans  a  commanding  position  in  in- 
ternational politics  which  was  to  work  for  the  unity  and  peace  of 
the  world.  As  this  western  movement  synchronized  with  American 
supremacy  in  industry  and  manufactures,  and  especially  in  the  pro- 
duction of  steel  and  iron,  Japan  found  herself  at  the  vortex,  not 
only  of  an  industrial  cyclone,  but  also  of  a  vast  and  complicated 
movement  of  the  world's  political  forces.  The  presence  of  the 
Americans  in  the  Philippines  powerfully  assisted  in  reinforcing  the 
desire  and  advantage  of  Japan  for  the  integrity  of  the  Chinese  em- 
pire and  the  independence  of  Corea,  and  paved  the  way  for  the  long- 
talked-of  alliance  between  the  British  and  Japanese  empires.  Al- 
ready for  a  generation  the  pupil  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  nations,  the 
bonds  uniting  the  Japanese  with  the  English-speaking  peoples  were 
forged  to  fresh  strength  by  the  logic  of  events. 

To  those  who  knew  best  the  Japanese  of  the  twentieth  century, 
it  has  been  long  evident  that  their  ambition  is  less  military  than 
commercial.  Their  design  is  to  capture  the  markets  of  Asia,  and 
to  win  great  victories  of  peace  in  honorable  competition,  rather  than 
the  triumphs  of  war,  and  thus  to  gain  and  hold  a  commanding  posi- 
tion among  the  nations  of  the  world.  With  such  persistence — dis- 
cerning the  time  and  fullv  aware  of  their  opportunity — have  the 
Japanese  so  courageously  followed  up  their  advantage  that  in  1901 
the  bulk  of  trade,  imports  and  exports,  passed  the  half-billion  yen 
mark,  the  figures  being  in  a  most  satisfactory  form  as  regards  the 
balance  of  trade. 

In  a  word,  as  Japan  faces  the  twentieth  century,  we  see  that  her 
transition  from  the  condition  of  an  agricultural  to  that  of  a  manu- 
facturing and  commercial  nation,  though  not  yet  complete,  has 
progressed  beyond  the  probability  of  retreat.  The  phenomena  at- 
tendant upon  this  national  change  are  seen  in  the  congestion  of  pop- 


650  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

ulation  in  the  municipalities;  in  notable  modification  of  architecture 
and  the  general  appearance  of  cities,  which  now  show  tall  chim- 
neys and  clouds  of  coal  smoke  where  these  before  were  unknown ; 
in  the  marring  of  beautiful  landscapes,  making  eyesore  and  desola- 
tion where  once  was  beauty ;  in  a  great  social  transformation  which 
has  already  begun  to  obliterate  the  age-long  distinction  between  the 
privileged  classes  and  the  commoners ;  in  the  disintegration  of  fam- 
ily structures  and  ideals ;  in  a  love  of  and  pursuit  after  money 
which  at  times  seems  to  amount  to  madness.  In  the  new  order  of 
things,  the  reign  of  economic  ideals  and  a  people  dominated  by  an 
eagerness  for  wealth  make  an  atmosphere  absolutely  foreign  to  the 
Japan  of  feudal  days. 

The  commercial  class,  once  so  despised,  is  not  only  rising  to  honor, 
but  is  rapidly  becoming  the  preponderant  element  in  the  social 
fabric,  in  the  political  councils,  and  in  the  decision  of  great  nation- 
al questions.  The  old  distinction  between  commoner  and  gentry 
(hei-min  and  samurai),  once  so  characteristic,  is  swiftly  passing 
away.  Already  in  the  military  and  naval  schools  the  hei-min  prob- 
ably constitute  the  majority,  and  among  the  junior  officers  of  the 
army  and  navy  they  are  very  numerous.  Even  before  the  nineteenth 
century  closed  more  than  one-half  of  the  students  in  the  universities 
of  Tokio  were  hei-min.  In  the  National  Diet  of  1902  commoners 
numbered  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  representatives  in  the  Lower 
House.  In  the  army,  navy,  law,  education,  promotion  is  not  now 
very  much  influenced  by  hereditary  class  considerations.  It  is  true 
now,  as  for  a  generation  past,  since  the  lads  from  samurai  families 
start  in  life  with  a  better  education,  that  the  men  of  this  class  are 
more  numerous  in%the  higher  ranks  in  all  departments,  but  the  old 
advantage  of  class  is  now  nearly  nullified  by  impartial  promotion, 
the  working  of  the  new  Civil  Code,  and  the  common-school  system. 

In  truth,  Japan  is  steadily  tending  towards  democracy,  a  fact 
which  is  illustrated  also  in  the  closer  unity  and  increasing  prosper- 
ity of  the  laboring  classes.  These  now  form  trades-unions,  in  order 
to  gain  the  strength  that  cohesion  secures.  Their  associations  have, 
indeed,  grown  out  of  the  old  native  guild  system,  but  in  their  novel 
and  aggressive  features  they  are  modelled  upon  the  larger  organiza- 
tions in  Western  countries.  The  Iron  Workers'  Union,  and  the 
Engineers'  Union,  of  the  Japan  Railway  Company,  are  among  the 
oldest  and  most  influential.  Already  great  open-air  meetings  of  or- 
ganized labor  to  discuss  themes  of  vital  interest  to  working-men  are 


FACING    THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  651 

held,  newspapers  like  the  Labor  World  are  published,  and  strikes  on 
a  large  scale  have  taken  place.  On  Labor  Day,  which  is  the  3d  of 
April,  one  of  the  demands  set  forth  is  the  right  of  voting  for  parlia- 
mentary delegates. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  in  1902  "  Japan's  immediate  trouble  is 
too  much  rather  than  too  little  available  labor."  The  population 
increases  by  over  half  a  million  annually.  As  the  army  takes  only 
about  forty  thousand  out  of  a  total  of  four  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  available  men  each  year,  the  condition  of  the  labor  mar- 
ket suits  better  the  employers,  especially  those  using  unskilled  labor, 
than  the  wage-earners.  With  so  steady  an  increase  of  population, 
and  a  notable  rise  in  the  cost  of  living,  it  will  require  an  enormous 
industrial  development  to  provide  work  and  food  for  the  masses. 

This  rise  in  the  price  of  the  necessaries  of  life  constitutes  a  seri- 
ous problem  which  the  statesman  must  face.  The  productive  powers 
of  the  soil  do  not  increase,  while  the  tendency  is  to  forsake  agricult- 
ure in  favor  of  manufactures  and  commerce,  so  that  the  food  sup- 
ply tends  to  diminish  even  while  the  population  multiplies.  Even 
the  Japanese  immigrants  to  the  north  in  Hokkaido,  to  the  west  in 
Corea,  and  to  the  south  in  Formosa,  do  not  take  kindly  to  the  tilling 
of  the  soil,  preferring  trade,  communications,  fishing,  or  handiwork. 

The  subjects  of  the  mikado,*  who,  on  November  3,  1902,  cele- 
brated his  fiftieth  birthday,  are  certainly  abroad,  even  to  the  num- 
ber of  possibly  200,000.  Of  these  about  20,000  are  in  Corea,  liv- 
ing in  the  five  or  six  open  ports  of  that  country  as  bankers,  trad- 
ers, fishermen,  and  laborers,  while  thousands  more  are  engaged  in  * 
building  the  railway  from  Fusan  and  Seoul,  a  railway  which  is  to 
have  forty  stations,  and  to  be  laid,  for  the  most  part,  over  the 
line  of  march  of  Konoshi  and  Kato  in  A.  D.  1592.-J-  Wherever  the 
Japanese  goes  in  Asia  he  builds  neat  dwellings,  and  his  corporation 
and  public  edifices  are  tasteful  and  imposing.  Over  70,000  Japan- 
ese laborers  are  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  whence  they  send  home 
their  savings,  which  in  1902  amounted  to  over  6,000,000  yen. 
There  are  about  80,000  Japanese  in  the  United  States  and  other 

*  The  Japanese  would  certainly  make  a  mistake  should  the}'  give  up  wholly 
the  use  of  the  ancient,  historic,  sonorous,  beautiful,  honorable,  appropriate,  and 
unique  title  "  mikado  " — a  word  intrenched  in  Japanese  and  European  literature 
— for  the  descriptive  term  "  emperor,"  which,  in  the  minds  of  Americans  at  least, 
is  associated  with  the  rulers  of  Corea  and  Hayti,  not  to  speak  of  Dahomey  and 
various  temporary  or  extinct  political  structures  called  "  empires." 

t  See  p.  243. 


652  THE  MIKADOES  EMPIRE. 

Western  countries,  most  of  them  engaged  in  opening  new  avenues 
of  trade  and  usefulness.  About  1200  of  them  are  students  or  dip- 
lomatists, exploiting  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  the  stored-up  ex- 
perience of  many  nations  for  the  bettering  of  their  own  country. 
The  sons  of  Japan,  now  to  be  found  in  almost  every  part  of  the 
world,  inquisitive  and  acquisitive,  live  with  the  one  consuming  pur- 
pose of  making  Japan  great.  It  is  said  that  in  the  evolution  of 
Japan  three  dominant  ideas  in  ethics  have  prevailed  in  the  differ- 
ent ages — feudal,  imperial,  and  humanistic.  In  the  first  age  the 
distinctive  word  was  "loyalty,"  in  the  second  "patriotism,"  in  the 
third  "  society." 

The  concentration  and  strengthening  of  the  empire  is  noted  not 
only  in  the  development  of  the  physical  resources  of  the  Hokkaido 
and  Formosa,  but  also  in  the  formal  possession  and  colonization  of 
some  of  the  hitherto  uninhabited  but  valuable  islands  among  that 
unknown  number  in  the  Japanese  archipelago,  of  which  over  four 
thousand  have  been  counted,  and  of  which  possibly  six  hundred  are 
inhabited ;  though  by  far  the  greater  number  of  the  islands  of  Nip- 
pon are  mere  rocks  or  crags  rising  out  of  the  blue  sea,  some  of 
them  invisible  at  high  tide.  In  1879  some  Japanese  landed  on 
Marcus  Island  to  explore  and  describe  it,  finding  it  also  a  nesting- 
ground  of  the  albatross.  In  later  years  a  colony  of  about  three 
hundred  persons  occupied  it,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  its  wealth 
in  fin  and  feather.  In  1898  the  Government  in  Tokio  took  formal 
possession  under  the  name  of  Minarni-tori,  or  Southern  Bird  Isl- 
*and.  Nevertheless,  the  judgments  suggested  by  Coleridge's  "  Rime 
of  the  Ancient  Mariner"  seem  to  have  fallen  elsewhere.  On  the 
9th  of  August,  1902,  another  "bird  island,"  Tori-shima,  lying  mid- 
way between  the  Bonin  group  and  the  Seven  Isles  of  Idzu,  in  the 
line  of  Japan's  chief  volcanic  energy,  was  for  the  most  part  de- 
stroyed by  a  subterranean  eruption.  When  a  Japanese  man-of-war 
visited  it  a  few  days  later  four  craters  were  in  a  state  of  intense 
activity,  and  there  was  no  sign  of  any  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 
inhabitants  known  to  have  been  on  it. 

In  the  first  national  assembly  in  Kioto,  in  1868,  one  of  the  topics 
discussed  was  a  plan  for  the  development  of  the  island  of  Yezo. 
Now  that  a  whole  generation  has  elapsed,  the  Hokkaido,  consisting 
of  Yezo  and  the  adjacent  islands,  shows  handsomely  the  results  of 
the  labor  expended,  since  the  first  year  of  Meiji,  by  statesmen,  scien- 
tific men,  and  industrious  emigrants.  In  harbor  works  and  improve- 


1AC1NG   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  653 

ments,  in  agriculture  and  stock-raising,  in  the  improvement  of  placer- 
mining,  in  the  working  of  coal-mines  and  petroleum-wells,  the  ad- 
vance lias  been  most  gratifying.  Over  three  hundred  miles  of 
railway  are  now  open  to  traffic,  over  two  hundred  of  these  being 
used  for  private  enterprise.  The  Government  programme  includes 
a  trunk  line  nearly  six  hundred  miles  long,  extending  from  one  end 
of  the  island  to  the  other,  to  be  finished  by  the  year  1910.  Ameri- 
can placer-miners,  since  1900,  have  greatly  improved  the  methods 
for  the  yield  of  gold,  and  it  is  hoped  before  many  years  to  dis- 
cover the  parent  lodes  in  the  higher  mountains.  It  is  said  in 
rhetoric  that  the  coal  supply  of  Hokkaido  is  "  inexhaustible,"  or, 
in  the  estimate  of  engineers,  6,600,000,000  tons.  The  mines  of 
one  company,  which  has  recently  built  large  steamers  to  carry  their 
product  to  Hong-Kong  and  Singapore,  contain  in  workable  quantity 
375,000,000  tons. 

Through  the  opening  of  new  seaports,  and  the  improvement  of 
old  ones,  the  Hokkaido  in  its  prosperity  has  actually  been  able  to 
dictate  the  reorganization  of  the  routes  of  commerce  between  America 
and  China.  Instead  of  coaling  at  Moji  or  Nagasaki,  and  then  taking 
the  eastern  route  through  the  Inland  Sea  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  steam- 
ers now  coal  in  Yezo  and  go  up  or  down  the  Sea  of  Japan,  thus  not 
only  shortening  distance,  but  also  enjoying  more  favorable  weather. 
Muroran,  opened  in  1894,  is  the  chief  coaling  station,  its  popula- 
tion having  already  doubled.  In  area  of  anchorage  it  is  now  the 
third  largest  port  in  Japan,  able  to  hold  forty  ocean  liners,  though 
Hokodate,  farther  to  the  east,  can  hold  a  hundred.  Hotaru  is  the 
next  port  of  importance.  Whereas  the  total  population  of  Hok- 
kaido in  1869  was  less  than  60,000,  it  is  now,  in  1902,  considerably 
over  1,200,000,  with  an  annual  trade  of  about  500,000  yen. 

Although  Japan  is  not,  as  was  once  supposed,  rich  in  minerals, 
yet,  owing  to  improvement  in  scientific  processes,  which  may  be  yet 
very  widely  extended,  the  mineral  product  in  1900  was  nearly  50,- 
000,000  yen,  or  about  five  times  that  of  the  previous  decade.  No 
large  veins  of  iron  have  yet  been  discovered.  Most  of  that  which 
is  mined  comes  from  the  San-in-do,  on  the  southwest  coast,  the 
output  in  1900  being  over  23,000  tons.  The  possession  in  abun- 
dance of  native  coal  of  good  quality  inspires  the  Japanese  with  hope 
of  success  in  the  industrial  struggle  of  the  twentieth  century.  In 
1900  over  7,000,000  tons  were  mined,  worth  nearly  25,000,000  yen. 
The  coal  is  of  two  kinds,  soft  and  hard,  though  the  latter  is  much 


(J54  THE  MIKADOES  EMPIRE. 

inferior  to  Pennsylvania  anthracite.  Petroleum,  which,  when  refined, 
is  equal  to  the  best  of  Russia  or  the  United  States,  comes  chiefly 
from  Echigo,  whence,  in  1900,  31,000,000  gallons,  worth  nearly 
2,000,000  yen,  were  obtained. 

Formosa,  which  at  first  seemed  to  be  the  grave  of  the  man  from 
Xippon,  and  the  bottomless  pit  of  Japanese  finance,  shows  most 
hopefully  the  result  of  the  zeal,  industry,  and  the  intelligent  study 
and  mastery  of  special  problems.  A  steady  migration  of  Japanese 
has  set  in,  over  10,000  of  the  50,000  now  on  the  island  having 
come  since  the  year  1900.  The  total  area  of  Formosa  and  adjacent 
isles  is  about  5535  square  miles.  Since  its  cession  from  China,  in 
1895,  about  150,000,000  yen  have  been  sunk  in  the  archipelago  by 
the  Tokio  Government,  and  many  thousands  of  lives  sacrificed  to 
malaria  and  fever.  Formosa  is  occupied  by  various  races  of  men  in 
various  degrees  of  development,  making  the  problem  of  civilization 
a  complicated  one.  There  are  the  Chinese,  mostly  emigrants  from 
the  south  of  China,  living  on  the  lowlands,  who  are  pro-Chinese  in 
all  their  notions  and  inherited  ideas,  being  densely  ignorant  of  Jap- 
anese history  and  purpose.  The  people  on  the  plateaus  are  for  the 
most  part  of  mixed  blood,  peaceable  and  partly  civilized.  In  the 
mountains  and  on  the  rocky  eastern  coast  dwell  the  primitive,  cop- 
per-colored aborigines,  head-hunters,  or  formerly  such,  and  number- 
ing about  100,000,  whom  it  is  difficult  to  civilize.  The  military 
and  police  operations  have  not  yet  ceased  among  the  aborigines,  but 
one  after  another  the  various  problems,  military,  hygienic,  educa- 
tional, engineering,  economic,  have  been  attacked  with  patience  and 
thoroughness,  and  along  all  lines  brilliant  success  has  been  won.  In 
1902  about  50,000  children  were  in  Government  or  private  schools, 
taught  in  the  vernacular,  while  medical,  normal,  and  Japanese  lan- 
guage schools  for  training  the  more  intelligent  and  mature  pupils  in 
modern  science  and  the  language  and  literature  of  Japan  are  in 
operation.  By  drainage  and  the  enforcement  of  hygienic  laws  the 
death  rate  among  the  Japanese  has  been  lowered  seventy-five  per 
cent.  Taihoku,  cleanly  built,  well  drained,  with  macadamized  streets 
and  well -stocked  shops,  is  virtually  a  new  Japanese  city,  afford- 
ing the  natives  a  magnificent  object-lesson  in  improved  methods 
of  living.  Whereas  Formosa  was  of  old  noted  for  an  enormous 
number  of  mosquitoes  and  flies,  the  number  of  obnoxious  insects  has 
greatly  decreased.  The  problem  of  malaria  was  successfully  at- 
tacked (luring  the  summer  of  1902  by  segregating  one  battalion  of 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  655 

infantry  for  the  space  of  161  days,  during  which  time  not  a  single 
case  of  this  disease  occurred,  although  in  a  battalion  not  similarly 
protected  there  were  259  cases. 

Since  modern  industries  and  improvements  have  sprung  up  all 
over  the  island  all  classes,  except  the  Chinese  literati,  whose  occu- 
pation is  gone,  have  improved  their  standard  of  living.  Over  a 
thousand  miles  of  ordinary  wagon-road  have  been  built,  new  tele- 
graphic cables  to  Japan,  China,  and  the  Pescadores  laid,  the  old  rail- 
way of  Chinese  days  has  been  wholly  rebuilt,  and  the  island  equip- 
ped with  telegraphs  and  the  cities  with  telephones.  The  entire 
revenue  is  expended  on  local  public  improvements.  The  Government 
holds  a  monopoly  on  opium,  salt,  and  camphor,  its  policy  looking  to 
the  gradual  abolition  of  opium-smoking  by  forbidding  it  to  those 
who  have  not  yet  used  it,  while  making  it  more  difficult  to  those  ad- 
dicted to  the  drug.  Formosa  is  the  camphor  preserve  of  the  world, 
and  the  policy  in  working  this  monopoly  is  to  protect  the  trees,  im- 
prove the  method  of  manufacture,  and  to  put  the  industry  on  a  se- 
cure basis,  regulating  the  production  to  the  demand  and  supply  of 
the  market.  The  actual  revenue  of  the  island  in  1897  was  5,000,000 
yen,  and  in  1902  nearly  12,000,000  yen,  making  it  one  of  the  most 
hopeful  portions  of  the  mikado's  empire,  while  demonstrating  the 
ability  of  the  Japanese  to  colonize  new  possessions. 

In  the  Riu  Kiu  archipelago  the  process  of  assimilating  the  na- 
tives to  the  manners  arid  customs  of  the  Japanese  proceeds  hope- 
fully. For  a  long  time  immemorial  tradition  and  the  great  bulk  of 
China  appealed  powerfully  to  the  imagination  of  the  princes  and 
nobles  of  the  little  archipelago,  many  of  whom  fully  expected  that 
the  Middle  Kingdom  would  regain  her  supremacy  over  the  islands. 
The  decease  in  Tokio,  August  19,  1901,  of  the  Marquis  Sho  Tai, 
formerly  king  of  the  Riu  Kiu  Islands,  in  his  fifty -seventh  year, 
ended  the  last  of  the  dual  sovereignties  of  Asia ;  while  late  in 
1902  the  other  Riu  Kiuan  noblemen  in  Tokio  cut  their  hair  in 
modern  style,  put  on  foreign  clothes,  sent  their  children  to  Japan- 
ese schools,  and  paid  social  visits  in  the  capital  of  Japan,  where  they 
now  reside. 

In  1899  Japan,  after  thirty  years  of  hope  delayed,  attained  po- 
litical independence.  Extra-territorial ity,  with  its  consular  courts 
and  abuses,  was  abolished,  the  Imperial  Government  assuming  con- 
trol of  all  aliens  within  the  national  domain.  The  new  treaties 
which  recognized  Japan  as  an  equal  with  the  great  states  of  Chris 


656  THE  MIKAV&S  EMPTHE. 

tendom  went  into  effect  July  17th,  amid  demonstrations  of  general 
joy.  Towards  the  consummation  of  this  result,  the  United  States 
in  sentiment,  and  Great  Britain  by  actual  initiative,  led,  the  ne- 
gotiations of  the  British  ministers,  Sir  Hugh  Fraser  and  Sir  Ernest 
Satow,  having  been  most  efficacious,  the  way  being  thus  further 
smoothed  for  an  Anglo-Japanese  alliance.  In  the  actual  working 
of  the  new  treaties,  apparently  the  only  important  difficulty  has 
been  in  the  matter  of  the  house  tax  levied  on  aliens.  At  the  same 
time,  though  not  strikingly  phenomenal  to  foreigners,  yet  profoundly 
influencing  the  social  structure  in  Japan,  was  the  operation  of  the 
new  Civil  Code,  for  the  faithful  administration  of  which  new  courts 
had  been  provided  and  many  judges  sent  abroad  for  study  and  ob- 
servation. Whereas  society  in  old  Japan  was  constructed  accord- 
ing to  the  impersonal  theory,  the  family  being  the  unit  and  the  in- 
dividual next  to  nothing,  the  Western  principle  of  individuality  is 
now  the  rule. 

Foremost  among  the  causes  that  led  to  the  compilation  of  the 
present  Civil  Code  was  the  necessity  of  replacing  by  one  uniform 
system  of  law  and  procedure  the  various  systems  which  had  existed 
in  feudal  times,  when  Japan  was  divided  into  about  three  hundred 
petty  principalities,  and  when  class  distinction  possessed  almost  the 
rigidity  of  unalterable  law.  While  many  years  were  required  to 
compile  a  code,  rapid  changes  and  the  quickly  growing  needs  of  the 
era  compelled  adjustment,  according  to  the  method  outlined  in  the 
edict  of  1875.  By  this  judges  were  instructed  to  render  justice 
according  to  law,  where  law  was  available ;  according  to  the  custom, 
where  law  was  not  available  ;  and  according  to  just  principles,  where 
law  and  custom  were  alike,  unavailable.  It  was  natural  that  the 
judges  of  Japan  should  go  to  the  Western  nations  in  search  of 
"just  principles,"  and  select  from  their  jurisprudence  basic  ideas 
common  to  Europe  and  America.  Tins,  however,  was  a  perplexing 
task.  Codification  of  civil  law  began  in  1870.  After  eight  years' la- 
bor, Japanese  experts,  working  without  foreign  assistants,  submitted 
to  the  Government  a  draft,  which  was  rejected.  In  1880  Professor 
Boissonade,  having  completed  the  new  Penal  Code  of  Japan,  was  in- 
vited to  turn  his  attention  to  the  Civil,  which  he  did.  One  year 
later  he  submitted  his  draft  to  a  committee  of  the  Senate  and  of 
the  Bench,  which,  after  eight  years,  made  its  report.  In  1890  four 
books  of  the  Civil  Code  were  published,  but  the  remaining  portions 
of  the  code  were  drafted  exclusively  by  Japanese  jurists.  Internal 


FACING  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  657 

political  preoccupation  prevented  the  operation  of  the  code  in  1893, 
arid  meanwhile  it  was  recast.* 

During  the  year  1899  the  northern  city  of  Sendai  celebrated 
the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of  its  foundation.  Being  already 
a  notable  educational  centre,  its  people  have  during  several  years 
continued  their  agitation  for  the  foundation  by  the  Government  of 
the  Tohoku,  or  University  of  the  North.  The  associations  of  Sen- 
dai with  the  feudal  past,  with  the  glories  of  the  house  of  Dat6,  and 
of  the  mission  in  the  sixteenth  century  of  the  Christian  retainers  of 
Date  Masumune  to  Europe,  are  among  the  most  romantic  and  pict- 
uresque in  the  national  memory,  while  to-day  Sendai  is  the  most 
distinctively  Christian  city  of  the  empire,  and  the  focus  of  success- 
ful missionary  work  and  culture. 

Among  the  deaths  of  the  year  1899  are  to  be  noted  those  of 
Count  Katsu  Awa,  the  beginner  of  the  modern  Japanese  navy ; 
Baron  Nobuyoki,  an  eminent  diplomatist  and  a  Christian  gen- 
tleman ;  Professor  Yatabe,  educated  at  Cornell  University,  one  of 
the  first  Japanese  students  in  a  foreign  country  to  graduate  from  a 
full  college  course,  and  who  afterwards  became  eminent  in  botanical 
science;  and  Professor  Burton,  the  engineer,  whose  professional 
work  in  Tokio,  Yokohama,  and  Formosa  was  of  the  first  order  of 
excellence.  During  this  year,  also,  dysentery  raged  throughout 
the  empire,  there  being  nearly  9000  fatalities  out  of  45,000  cases. 
Happily  in  this  instance  that  which  caused  woe  and  death  became 
the  occasion  of  a  great  triumph  in  science  and  the  healing  art,  for 
Dr.  Kitasato,  pupil  of  the  illustrious  Dr.  Koch,  of  Berlin,  discovered 
the  bacillus  of  dysentery.  He  has  since  added  to  his  laurels  by 
detecting  the  microbes  which  cause  the  national  scourge  of  kak-ke, 
and  of  the  bubonic  plague.  The  serums  invented  by  Dr.  Kitasato, 
when  properly  administered,  have  been  the  cause  of  the  saving  of 
thousands  of  lives. 

In  the  field  of  sculpture  and  out-door  decoration  there  has  been 
a  notable  revival.  The  chief  cities  of  the  empire  show,  in  their 

*  Dr.  Hatoyania,  who  received  from  Tale  University  liis  degree  of  LL.D.  at 
the  same  time  with  the  Marquis  Ito,  in  the  autumn  of  1902,  has  published  in 
the  Tale  Law  Journal,  in  1902,  his  address  on  "The  Civil  Code  of  Japan  Com- 
pared with  the  French  Civil  Code,"  showing  where  in  principle  and  procedure 
it  differs  from  those  of  the  French  and  German,  and  wherein  they  are  identical. 
That  part  of  the  code  relating  to  family  relations  and  succession  contains  so 
many  features  peculiar  to  Japan  that  Dr.  Hatoynma  has  wisely  omitted  it  from 
his  comparative  study.  See  the  Japan  Mail  for  October  4, 1902. 


658  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

modern  parks,  gardens,  bronze  statues,  and  works  of  memorial  art, 
methods  of  expression,  which  blend  Oriental  and  Occidental  form 
and  taste  with  notable  skill  and  happy  results.  Not  a  few  of  the 
heroes  of  the  "opening  of  the  country,"  in  the  era  from  1853  to 
1868,  and  of  the  Restoration,  have  already  been  honored.  Before 
the  wonderful  year  of  1898  closed  a  magnificent  bronze  statue  of 
Saigo  Takamori,  military  leader,  first  in  restoring  the  mikado  to 
power,  and  later  head  of  the  great  Satsuma  insurrection  of  1877, 
which  indirectly  gave  the  radical  political  agitators  their  oppor- 
tunity, and  hastened  the  gift  of  the  Constitution,  was  unveiled  in 
Uyeno  Park,  in  Tokio,  December  28th.  The  men  of  Choshiu  have 
reared,  in  their  chief  city,  four  handsome  effigies  in  bronze  of  the 
great  men  of  this  mighty  clan  who  led  in  the  movement  leading  to 
the  restoration  of  1868.  Inside  of  the  Sakurada  gate  of  the  impe- 
rial castle  in  Tokio  is  an  equestrian  statue  of  Kusunoki  Masashige 
(p.  191).  The  hero  is  represented  riding  in  full  armor  before  the 
emperor,  Go  Daigo,  after  overthrowing  the  Hojo.  The  statue,  thir- 
teen feet  high,  is  a  very  creditable  specimen  of  the  work  of  the 
Tokio  sculptor,  S.  Okazaki.  Nor  is  the  gratitude  of  the  Japanese 
confined  to  their  own  countrymen.  Almost  every  year  is  marked 
by  some  memorial  reared  by  them  in  appreciation  of  their  foreign 
helpers  or  teachers.  The  granite  monument  to  the  memory  of  Dr. 
G.  F.  Verbeck* — the  burial  lot  having  been  deeded  to  his  family 
by  the  Tokio  city  government — was  paid  for  by  public  subscrip- 
tion, and  chiefly  by  his  former  pupils.  No  fewer  than  six  inscribed 
stones,  set  up  by  grateful  natives,  stand  upon  the  soil  of  Japan  in 
honor  of  Philipp  Franz  von  Siebold,  who  lived  in  Japan  from  1823 
to  1830,  and  thence  for  twenty-nine  years,  in  Europe,  was  busy  with 
his  "  Archiv,"  and  the  introduction  of  Japanese  plants.  In  two  in- 
stances Thunberg  shares  with  Siebold  the  honor  of  memorial.f  Dr. 
Divers,  founder  of  the  College  of  Engineering,  has  been  commem- 
orated in  a  bronze  bust.  To  the  living  honors  are  paid  in  the  form 
of  decorations,  and  among  Americans  thus  honored  is  Mr.  H.  W. 
Dennison,  for  many  years  in  the  service  of  the  Foreign  Office  in 
Tokio,  who  received  from  the  emperor  the  jewel  of  the  first  class 


*  See  picture  and  descriptive  text  in  "  Verbeck  of  Japan :  A  Citizen  of  No 
Country."  New  York,  1900. 

t  See  pictures  and  text  -  inscription  in  the  3fitt7ie&ungen,  vol.  ix.,  part  i.,  of 
the  German  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,  a  most  valuable  thesaurus  of  exact  infor- 
mation relating;  to  Japan. 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  659 

order  of  the  Rising  Sun,  the  first  given  to  any  not  of  the  diplomatic 
corps.  In  other  striking  instances  more  than  one  "  maker  of  the 
New  Orient,"  even  though  passed  from  earth,  is  not  only  vividly 
remembered,  but  his  work  goes  steadily  on,  because  in  numerous 
pupils  has  been  produced  the  image  of  his  own  life.  Perhaps  no 
more  shining  instance  can  be  cited  than  that  of  Dr.  S.  It.  Brown,* 
who  died  in  1880,  but  whose  disciples  now,  by  the  score,  fill  high 
stations  of  power  and  influence  in  the  nobler  life  of  the  nation. 
One  of  the  most  signal  proofs  of  the  changed  temper  of  the  nation, 
and  of  his  imperial  majesty's  gracious  benevolence,  is  that  Toku- 
gawa  Keiki  (p.  314),  now  a  hale  old  gentleman,  has  been  made  a 
prince,  and  is  an  honored  guest  at  the  mikado's  palace. 

Years  ago,  when  the  author  of  this  work  asserted  his  belief  that 
the  Japanese  themselves  would  one  day  rear  a  monument  in  honor 
of  Commodore  Perry,  who,  under  Providence,  opened  Japan  to  fra- 
ternity with  the  Western  nations,  the  suggestion  was  greeted  with 
scorn,  and  even  with  guffaws  of  derision.  In  the  autumn  of  1900, 
Commodore  L.  A.  Beardslee,  U.  S.  N.,  who  had  been  a  midshipman 
in  Perry's  expedition  of  1853,  arrived  in  Japan.  Visiting  Kurihama, 
the  village  at  which  the  President's  letter  was  delivered,  he  found 
three  survivors  who  remembered  the  event  and  pointed  out  the 
site  of  the  temporary  pavilion  erected  to  receive  the  American  en- 
voy and  the  President's  letter.  Admiral  Beardslee  was  received 
in  audience  by  the  emperor,  and  at  a  garden-party  many  relics  of 
the  old  times  were  shown,  and  addresses  made  by  those,  including 
Fukuzawa,  who  remembered  the  treaty-making  days  of  the  early 
fifties.  Largely  through  the  influence  of  Baron  K.  Kaneko,  LL.D., 
a  graduate  of  Harvard  University,  and  for  some  time,  as  Minister 
of  Justice,  a  member  of  Ito's  cabinet,  the  "  American  Association  " 
(Beiyu  Kyokwai),  made  up  of  Japanese  who  had  studied  or  so- 
journed in  the  United  States,  was  formed.  Several  thousand  yen 
were  subscribed,  the  emperor  leading  from  his  own  purse  with  the 
sum  of  1000  yen,  thus  testifying  his  sincere  feeling  of  friendship 
for  the  United  States  and  the  appreciation  of  the  man  who  re- 
ceived his  orders  to  proceed  to  Japan  at  about  the  time  of  his  own 
birth.  Several  acres  of  land,  since  made  into  the  Perry  Park,  were 
bought  at  Kurihama,  and  on  a  pedestal  of  masonry,  eighteen  feet 


*  See  "A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient,  Samuel  Robbins  Brown,  Pioneer  Educa- 
tor in  China,  America,  and  Japan."     New  York,  1903. 


G6U  ?HE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

high,  a  monolith  slab  of  Sendai  granite  of  the  same  height  was  set 
up.  The  inscription,  written  by  the  Marquis  Ito,  deeply  incised  in 
the  face  of  the  monument,  and  brilliantly  gilded,  reads :  "  This 
monument  commemorates  the  first  arrival  of  Commodore  Perry, 
Ambassador  of  the  United  States  of  America,  who  landed  at  this 
place  July  14,  1853.  Erected  July  14,  1901."  After  appropriate 
exercises,  salutes  were  fired  by  the  men-of-war  of  Japan  and  the 
United  States,  the  former  being  represented  by  a  picturesque  line 
of  vessels,  from  the  antiquated  type  of  half  a  century  ago  to  the 
largest  and  finest  of  modern  steel  battle-ships,  and  the  latter  by  the 
New  York,  the  New  Orleans,  and  the  Yorktown,  in  command  of  Ad- 
miral Rodgers,  the  grandson  of  Commodore  Perry.  Afterwards, 
at  his  own  table,  the  American  officer  entertained  one  of  the  Jap- 
anese villagers,  who,  in  1853,  had  waited  upon  his  grandfather. 

Meanwhile,  on  the  Bay  of  Yedo,  in  which  Perry's  were  the  first 
steamers,  there  are,  besides  formidable  works  of  defence,  the  chief 
national  naval  station  and  ship -yard  of  Yokoska.  At  historic 
Uraga  two  great  dry- docks  for  steamers  and  sailing-vessels  have 
been  finished,  one  being  451,  the  other  500  feet  long.  Five  Ameri- 
can gunboats  for  service  in  the  Philippines  have  been  built  by  the 
Japanese,  who  have  entered  upon  a  grand  era  of  ship-building  and 
purchase,  which  will  soon  make  the  old-fashioned  junk  a  rare  curi- 
osity. In  1900,  77  steamers  and  48  sailing-vessels  were  built  in 
their  dock-yards,  while  227  steamers  and  119  sailing-ships  were 
purchased. 

Shortly  after  the  year  1901  and  the  twentieth  century  had  been 
ushered  in,  Mr.  Y.  Fukuzawa,  author,  reformer,  editor,  and  founder 
of  a  university,  passed  away  on  February  1st.  As  a  pioneer  and 
champion  of  Western  civilization,  and  the  writer  of  books  which 
had  reached  the  total  sale  of  four  million  copies,  he  was  described 
by  the  natives  as  "  the  greatest  motive  force  of  Japanese  civiliza- 
tion," and  by  Professor  Chamberlain  as  "  the  intellectual  father  of 
half  the  young  men  who  fill  the  middle  and  lower  posts  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  Japan."  A  student  first  of  Dutch  in  the  early  fifties, 
and  one  of  the  first  to  cross  oceans  and  see  America  and  Europe, 
he  wrote  a  book  on  the  "  Manners  and  Customs  in  the  Western 
World,"  which  was  eagerly  read  by  millions  of  his  hermit  country- 
men, and  served  powerfully  to  sway  Japan  in  the  path  of  Western 
civilization.  Next  to  the  Christian  missionaries,  lie  was  the  most 
potent  personal  force  in  training  his  countrymen,  not  only  in  public 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  VENTURE,  601 

debate,  in  the  procedure  of  deliberative  assemblages,  according  to 
forms  in  vogue  in  the  West,  but  also  in  the  dignified  use  of  the  ver- 
nacular in  public  discourse  and  in  journalism.  lie  was  the  master 
of  a  style  which  blended  the  written  and  the  spoken  language,  put- 
ting into  common  speech  and  script  what  had  of  old  been  the  prop- 
erty of  the  learned. 

I  knew  Fukuzawa  well,  and  was,  with  him,  a  member  of  the  Mei- 
Roku  Sha,  a  club  which,  as  its  name  imports,  was  founded  in  the 
sixth  year  of  Meiji  (1873).*  It  included  such  men  as  Arinori  Mori, 
later  Minister  to  Washington  and  London,  and,  in  the  Japanese  cabi- 
net, holding  the  portfolio  of  education  ;  Nakumura  Masanawo,  the 
translator  of  Mill,  the  founder  of  a  noted  school,  and  of  what  after- 
wards became  a  political  party  ;  Kato  Hiroyuki,  president  of  the 
Imperial  University,  and  now  of  the  House  of  Peers ;  Nishimura, 
educator  and  author,  member  of  the  House  of  Peers;  the  two  Mit- 
sukuri  brothers ;  Uchida  Masawo.  and  many  others  who  have  won 
imperishable  fame  in  the  regeneration  of  their  country.  Few  or- 
ganizations of  a  private  nature  have  done  so  much  for  the  transfor- 
mation of  the  Japanese  nation  through  purely  intellectual  processes. 
Although  the  proceedings  of  the  club  are  no  longer  published,  and 
there  are  but  very  few  survivors,  the  meetings  are  still  held  monthly. 
Among  the  noteworthy  dead  of  the  year  1902  were  those  of  the 
Marquis  Saigo,  brother  of  the  famous  Takamori,  ever  loyal  to  the 
throne,  leader  of  the  expedition  to  Formosa,  several  times  member 
of  the  cabinet,  a  statesman  of  singularly  sound  judgment,  and  a 
man  of  winning  character;  Mr.  Nishimura,  who,  in  the  days  of  the 
Jo-i,  or  foreigner-haters,  fearlessly  insisted  upon  opening  the  country 
to  foreign  intercourse;  and  li  Naonori,  eldest  son  of  the  premier 
li,  who,  in  1861,  was  assassinated  because  he  took  the  responsibility, 
and,  without  the  mikado's  consent,  signed,  with  Townsend  Harris,  the 
American  treaty.  Of  the  notable  foreigners  who  passed  away  were, 
Mr.  J.  F.  Lowder  (step-son  of  Sir  Rutherford  Alcock,  and  son-in-law 
of  the  celebrated  missionary  and  translator  of  the  New  Testament, 
Dr.  Samuel  Robbins  Brown),  who  so  long  and  honorably  served  as 
legal  adviser  of  the  Japanese  Government,  and  was  repeatedly  dec- 
orated by  the  emperor ;  Mr.  Edward  H.  House,  who  came  to  Japan 
in  1869,  and,  as  correspondent  and  author  of  notable  pamphlets, 


*See  Preface,  and  "America  in  the  East,"  p.  110.    New  York,  1899;  and 
*'  Life  of  Fukuzawa"  (in  English),  by  A.  Miyamori.    Tokio,  1902. 


662  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

championed  the  cause  of  Japan  to  the  world,  in  later  years  demon- 
strating the  ability  of  Japanese  young  men  to  master  the  highest 
musical  compositions  of  the  Occident :,  Mr.  J.  11.  Brooke,  for  a  gen- 
eration the  editor  of  the  Japan  Herald ;  and  the  venerable  Arch- 
deacon Shaw,  of  Tokio,  whose  services  to  his  people  the  mikado 
recognized  by  bestowing  a  handsome  sum  for  the  expenses  of 
his  burial.  Verbeck,  Hepburn,  and  Shaw  were  spoken  of  by  the 
Japanese  as  "  the  three  seijin,"  or  Heaven-sent  sages  of  modern 
Japan. 

The  noble  line  of  physicians  raised  up  by  Dr.  Hepburn,  and  the 
scientific  men  from  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  the  United  States, 
has  been  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  Japan  of  the  Meiji  era. 
These  have  improved  the  national  health  and  vigor.  They  have 
guarded  their  coasts  against  the  advent  of  diseases  from  abroad. 
Especially  feared  is  the  pest  in  the  form  of  the  bubonic  plague.  It 
was  discovered  that  rats  were  the  carriers  of  contagion,  and  that  the 
rodents  were  in  many  lines  of  analogy  as  susceptible  to  disease  as 
man  is,  the  bacillus  being  common  to  both.  A  general  slaughter 
was  ordered.  The  number  of  rats — numerous  in  most  old  Japanese 
houses  —  killed  in  the  large  cities  reached  to  many  hundreds  of 
thousands.  Thus  the  latest  conclusion  of  modern  science  tallies  with 
the  observations  of  ancient  wisdom.  To  the  1'hilistines,  who  made 
golden  mice  as  a  propitiation  to  the  foreign  god  Jehovah,  and  to  the 
worshippers  in  many  ancient  temples,  the  mouse  was  the  symbol  of 
infection.  Yet  so  great  has  been  the  triumph  of  the  hygienic  art 
in  Japan  that  not  only  have  cholera,  dysentery,  kakke,  and  the 
plague  lost  most  of  their  terrors,  but  whereas  in  older  days  one- 
third  of  the  population  died  of  small -pox,  and  fully  one -third  of 
the  living  had  pitted  faces,  the  average  crowd  in  Japan  of  to-day 
shows  no  more  visible  traces  of  this  horrible  disease  than  the  same 
number  of  human  beings  in  other  civilized  countries. 

In  social  regeneration  and  conformity  to  the  best  ethical  and  so- 
cial standards  of  the  world,  the  nation  and  its  leaders  make  steady 
progress.  The  monogamy  of  future  holders  of  the  throne  is  now 
the  ethical  goal  towards  which  all  good  men  of  the  nation  look,  and 
for  which  they  hope,  in  order  that  example  in  high  places,  besides 
law  and  custom,  powerfully  aided  by  new  religion,  codes  of  law, 
economics,  and  moral  standards,  may  abolish  polygamy  and  concu- 
binage with  their  train  of  evils.  According  to  the  laws  of  the  im- 
perial succession,  only  male  descendants,  natural  children  of  the 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  663 

emperor,  or  sons  of  an  empress,  can  succeed  to  the  throne.  These 
laws  relating  to  marriage  in  the  imperial  family  were  proclaimed  in 
May,  1900.  They  forbid  marriage  before  the  age  of  seventeen  in 
the  prince,  and  of  fifteen  in  the  princess,  and  during  any  period  of 
imperial  mourning. 

'Of  the  children  born  to  the  emperor,  the  majority  died  in  in- 
'fancy  or  childhood,  but  the  heir-apparent,  Yoshihito,  born  August 
31,  1879,  and  proclaimed  heir  in  1887,  on  reaching  manhood  was 
betrothed,  early  in  1900,  to  hi^  cousin,  the  Princess  Sada,  third 
daughter  of  Prince  Kujo,  whose  descent  is  traced  from  the  famous 
ancestor,  Kamatari,  the  founder  of  Kamukura,  who  died  A.  D.  669. 
The  marriage  was  fixed  for  May  10,  1900,  and  took  place  in  the 
imperial  palace.  In  commemoration  of  the  wedding  postage-stamps 
were  issued,  and  the  general  symbolism  and  ceremonies  formed  a 
happy  combination  of  the  ideas  and  customs  both  'of  the  Orient 
and  the  Occident.  Happily  from  this  union  have  been  born  two 
male  children,  the  first,  Ilirohito,  with  the  title  of  Michi-no-Miya, 
May  5,  1901  ;  and  Haruhito,  in  1902.  Thus,  apparently,  the  prob- 
lem of  the  monogamy  of  the  future  emperors  of  Japan  is  solved. 

The  closing  year  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  that  in  which 
Japan  >was  drawn  into  even  closer  relations  with  the  United  States 
in  dictating  the  politics  of  Eastern  Asia.  To  understand  this  clear- 
ly, let  us  here  make  retrospect. 

In  1895,  Russia,  calling  to  her  aid  France  and  Germany,  forced 
Japan  to  retire  from  her  conquests  in  China  on  the  main-land  of 
Asia.  Their  object  was  to  check  Japan's  political  ambitions,  to 
preserve  to  themselves  the  economic  system  then  established,  and 
to  secure,  if  possible,  control  of  the  coal  and  iron  mines  in  the  an- 
ticipated dismemberment  of  China. 

"In  March,  1897,  Pittsburg  achieved  supremacy  in  steel,  and  in 
an  instant  Europe  felt  herself  poised  above  an  abyss.  As  though 
moved  by  a  common  impulse,  Russia,  Germany,  and  England  pre- 
cipitated themselves  upon  the  shore  of  the  Yellow  Sea,  grasping  at 
the  positions  which  had  been  conquered  by  Japan,  and  for  the  same 
reason."*  In  November,  1897,  a  general  movement  for  the  disin- 
tegration and  division  of  the  Chinese  empire  among  foreign  powers 
took  place.  Germany  laid  hands  on  Kiao  Chan,  Russia  seized  Port 
Arthur,  and  the  British  took  Wei-hai-wei.  Thus  the  three  European 

^ 

*  Brooks  Adams.     "  The  New  Empire,"  p.  191. 


664  THE  M1KAD&S  EMP18E. 

nations  commanded  the  gates  to  Peking.  France  and  Italy  tried 
later  to  follow  the  example  of  the  three  great  powers ;  but  the  issues 
of  the  Spanish-American  War,  by  projecting  the  United  States  into 
Asia,  so  soon  after  the  achievement  of  American  supremacy  in  steel 
and  iron  manufactures,  and  the  outbreak  of  the  Boxer  movement, 
giving  to  the  United  States  a  unique  opportunity,  prevented  the  dis- 
section of  China. 

Such  ruthless  proceedings  on  the  part  of  European  nations,  in 
their  lust  of  conquest,  drove  part  of  the  Chinese  people,  chiefly 
those  thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  new  methods  of  communi- 
cation, into  premature  revolt,  and  the  Boxer  movement  was  the 
consequence.  The  long-gathering  elements  of  discord  precipitated 
upon  the  railways,  Christian  villages,  and  mission  stations  a  mur- 
derous mob,  which  advanced  to  Peking  and  invested  the  foreign 
legations.  Nevertheless,  this  terrific  movement,  with  all  its  accom- 
paniments, the  murder  of  less  than  one  hundred  foreigners  and  of 
possibly  20,000  native  Christians,  and  desolation  of  property,  was 
only  an  insurrection  in  which  the  Government  of  China,  as  such, 
had  no  part.  This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  expedition  of 
2000  marines  and  sailors  from  the  allied  fleet,  led  out  June  10, 
1900,  by  the  British  Vice-Ad miral  Seymour,  to  relieve  the  legations 
besieged  in  Peking  by  the  Boxers,  met  with  no  enemies  in  the  form 
of  Chinese  regular  soldiers. 

When,  by  the  middle  of  June,  the  Boxer  riot  was  at  its  height, 
and  the  legations  surrounded,  "  not  one  cabinet  in  Europe  had  a 
policy  or  an  army  ready."  The  Russians  could  not  rush  troops  fast 
enough  over  their  new  railway  in  Siberia  to  guard  their  settlements 
and  stations.  The  English,  repulsed,  waited  upon  the  Germans, 
but  the  Germans  were  months  too  late  in  occupying  the  field.  In 
Tokio  and  Washington,  however,  there  were  clear  heads,  far-seeing 
minds,  arid  reserves  of  force  ready  to  carry  out  the  policy  which 
recognized  that  China  was  at  peace  with  the  world,  but  that  the 
Boxer  outbreak  was  of  the  nature  of  an  armed  insurrection  against 
constituted  authority,  which  the  Peking  government  was  unable  to 
control.  The  governments  of  Japan  and  the  United  States — Mar- 
quis Yamagata  and  President  McKinley  —  were  one  in  declaring 
that  the  integrity  of  the  Chinese  empire  should  be  preserved. 

Happily,  at  this  time,  in  Chinese  waters  our  country  was  repre- 
sented by  an  officer,  Rear-Admiral  Lewis  Kempff,  who  knew  thor- 
oughly the  traditions  of  his  country  from  Washington  to  McKinley, 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  665 

and  had  the  character,  the  conscience,  and  the  patriotism,  even  with- 
out instructions  from  his  Government,  to  stand  by  his  convictions 
and  to  place  duty  before  feelings,  lie  knew  that  the  United  States 
should  never  join  in  "  entangling  alliances  "  with  European  govern- 
ments, or  in  any  scheme  of  foreign  conquest,  or  willingly  violate 
peace  with  a  friendly  nation.  When  the  foreign  admirals,  British, 
Russian,  French,  and  Japanese,  on  June  17th,  joined  in  the  bombard- 
ment of  the  Taku  forts,  on  the  Pei-ho  liivcr,  guarding  the  approach 
to  the  Chinese  capital,  Rear- Admiral  Kempff,  U.  S.  N.,  withdrew 
from  the  coalition,  refused  to  open  fire,  and  let  the  attack  proceed 
against  his  protest.  lie  exhibited  the  nobler  courage  of  self-control 
and  the  higher  virtues  of  patriotism  in  obedience  to  the  fixed  Amer- 
ican policy. 

On  Admiral  KempfFs  decision  at  a  critical  moment  the  subse- 
quent successful  diplomacy  of  President  McKinley  and  Secretary 
Hay,  who  carried  out  the  American  policy  of  preserving  the  integ- 
rity of  the  Chinese  empire,  was  securely  based.  The  famous  note 
was  issued  from  Washington  announcing  that  peace  continued  un- 
broken between  the  United  States  and  China,  and  that  as  a  friendly 
ally  the  President  should  land  an  army  to  disperse  the  rioters  and 
relieve  the  legations.  The  European  governments  remained  in 
hesitation  without  a  policy,  but  the  Japanese  quickly  fell  in  with 
the  American  initiative  and  despatched  a  superbly  equipped  army  of 
minute-men  to  follow  General  Chaffee,  who  was  to  march  alone,  if 
necessary,  to  Peking.  All  that  was  necessary  in  Tokio  was  to  or- 
der the  Hiroshima  division,  with  some  auxiliaries,  making  a  total 
force  of  20,000  strong,  which,  within  a  fortnight  from  receipt  at 
camp  of  orders,  was  in  China. 

The  wanton  act  of  war  of  the  Europeans  in  firing  on  the  Taku 
forts  made  China  an  enemy,  and  the  allies,  Japanese,  American, 
Russian,  British,  and  French,  had  to  fight  the  Chinese  regulars,  who 
defended  Tien-Tsin  with  astonishing  bravery.  It  was  reserved  for 
Japanese  valor,  reinforced  by  science,  to  blow  up  the  gate  on  July 
14th.  Then  Tien-Tsin  was  cleared,  the  way  to  Peking  was  open, 
and  the  march  of  the  men  of  eight  nations  began  August  4th.* 
With  admirable  commissariat,  fresh,  filtered  water  on  the  march  and 
battle-field,  with  a  medical  staff  inferior  to  none,  and  able  to  help 

*  In  the  form  of  fiction  the  author  has  treated  of  the  Japanese  campaign  in 
China  in  1895  ;ind  1900.  See  "  In  the  Mikado's  Service:  A  Story  of  Two  Battle 
Summers  in  China."  Boston,  1901. 


666  THE  MIKADO'S  EMfME. 

others  besides  their  own  wounded,  with  soldiers  that  even  in  their 
looting  were  lovers  of  art,  and  who  rushed  into  battle  with  a  smile 
on  their  faces,  the  Japanese  contingent  reached  Peking  August  14th, 
healthier  and  relatively,  as  well  as  absolutely,  more  numerous  in  men 
fit  for  duty,  while  among  the  first  in  point  of  general  effectiveness 
of  the  allied  warriors  of  eight  nations. 

In  carrying  out  their  policy,  the  United  States  and  Japan  led, 
making  the  partition  of  China,  for  the  present  at  least,  impossible. 
The  expedition  cost  Japan  in  money  15,000,000  yen.  The  troops 
were  armed  with  the  new  Arisaka  rifle  and  field-gun  invented  by 
Major-General  Arisaka,  for  which  he  has  been  decorated  and  other- 
wise rewarded  by  the  emperor.  At  the  dawn  of  peace  in  China, 
Sir  Claude  McDonald  was  transferred  from  Peking  to  Tokio,  and 
Sir  Ernest  Satow  from  the  Japanese  to  the  Chinese  capital. 

We  may  now  turn  to  review  the  course  of  politics  and  the  consti- 
tutional development  of  the  empire,  associated  closely  as  these  are 
with  Japanese  economic  evolution. 

The  year  1898  was  that  of  the  greatest  expansion  in  manufact- 
ures and  commerce  ever  known  to  Japan,  and  the  eagerness  with 
which  her  people  rushed  into  new  fields  of  speculation,  took  vast 
risks,  and  inaugurated  enterprises  in  every  line  of  activity  promis- 
ing financial  results  was  amazing  if  not  extremely  hazardous.  Vast 
superstructures  rose  upon  financial  foundations  neither  broad  nor 
deep  enough  to  sustain  their  mass.  In  a  country  never  very  rich, 
and  with  its  natural  resources  only  slightly  exploited  under  the  old 
economic  conditions,  it  seemed  questionable  whether  the  sudden 
and  enormous  demand  for  capital  could  be  supplied.  Some  of  the 
profoundest  students  of  the  problem  prophesied  a  financial  strin- 
gency which  only  foreign  loans  could  relax.  In  addition  to  private 
enterprise  and  speculation,  the  enormous  naval  and  military  pro- 
gramme decided  upon  by  the  Government  after  the  war  of  1895 
seemed  impossible  of  fulfilment  without  increase  of  resources.  In 
any  event,  here  was  promise  of  abundant  material  for  parties  and 
the  workers  at  the  political  churn.  The  chief  questions  for  years  to 
come  must  be  economic  and  financial,  and  are  set  for  the  rise  and 
fall  of  many  cabinets,  as  we  shall  see. 

When  the  Diet  was  formally  opened  by  the  emperor  on  May  19, 
1898,  it  was  found  that  neither  the  Government  nor  the  Opposition 
had  a  majority.  The  Lower  House  refused  to  pass  the  bill  for  the 
increase  of  the  land  tax.  For  the  fifth  time,  in  twelve  sessions,  the 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  667 

House  was  dissolved  on  June  10th,  not,  however,  before  passing  the 
new  Civil  Code,  which  was  to  come  into  operation  with  the  new 
treaties  on  July  1,  1899.  Ito  and  his  colleagues  resigned,  and  a 
coalition  cabinet  made  up  of  the  Progressists  and  Liberals  was 
formed,  with  Count  Okuina  as  premier  and  Itagaki  as  head  of  the 
Home  Department,  with  associates  who  were  for  the  most  part  un- 
tried men.  Nevertheless,  this  was  the  first  real  party  cabinet,  in- 
stead of  the  previous  clan  oligarchies.  Since  government  by  party 
had  thus  far  proved  a  failure,  many  and  eager  were  the  hopes  of 
good  men  of  varied  minds  that  government  in  the  Western  manner, 
by  a  party  holding  a  majority  in  the  Lower  House,  would  be  in- 
augurated and  the  reign  of  clan  cliques  be  at  an  end. 

The  new  premier,  Count  Okuma,  was  a  man  of  singular  and 
varied  ability,  who  in  his  youth  had  been  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Verbeck, 
and  a  student  of  many  forms  of  government,  with  not  a  little  ex- 
perience since  the  year  1868.  He  was  well  read  in  the  precedents 
of  British  and  American  representative  government,  and  a  pro- 
nounced Liberal.  Itagaki,  the  man  of  Tosa,  out  of  whose  "for- 
ests," according  to  the  ancient  oracle,  "  liberty  was  to  flow,"  had 
been  the  leader  of  the  Radicals,  and  one  of  the  most  powerful  per- 
sonal forces  in  the  agitation  that  led  to  the  granting  of  the  consti- 
tution. He  is  often  spoken  of  by  foreigners  as  "  the  Rousseau  of 
Japan,"  though  that  name  is  usually  given  by  natives  to  the  late  Mr. 
Nakai  Chomin,  who  died  in  1901,  and  whose  book,  inculcating  his 
"  no-God-no-soul  theory,"  can  be  found  in  the  hands  of  almost 
every  country  school-teacher  of  the  period. 

Yet,  although  the  idea  of  administration  by  party  was  excellent, 
there  was  the  chronic  difficulty  of  facing  problems  within  a  party 
made  up  of  patriots  hungry  for  spoils  and  office,  and  one,  as  it 
proved,  greater  than  the  task  of  dealing  with  national  questions. 
It  was  soon  evident  that  the  new  political  family  was  not  a  happy 
one.  A  trifle  light  as  air  was  to  be  its  undoing.  While  publicly 
addressing  his  fellow-subjects,  the  Minister  of  Education,  Mr.  Ozaki 
Yukio,  made  allusion,  in  a  purely  hypothetical  instance,  to  the  pos- 
sible future  republic  in  Japan  centuries  hence.  A  storm  of  criticism 
was  evoked  almost  suggesting  that  which  Kiyohime  raised  when  her 
lover  Anchin  proved  recreant,  and  in  the  "  dragon  fire "  the  first 
party  cabinet  melted  as  did  the  bell  of  the  temple  Dojoji  of  Kumano, 
with  the  peccant  priest  within  it. 

Nevertheless,  although  the  first  attempt  at  purely  party  govern- 


668  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

ment  in  Japan  proved  a  failure,  the  principle  received  definite  rec- 
ognition in  the  very  next  stage  of  political  evolution,  and  oligarchy 
was  doomed.  In  the  tremendous  reaction  which  followed,  Marquis 
Yamagata  with  four  of  his  fellow  "elders"  of  1868  formed  a  new 
cabinet.  A  method  of  working  was  found  in  an  alliance  with  the 
Liberals,  the  latter  agreeing  to  support  the  land-tax  bill,  and  the 
"elders"  yielding  to  the  newer  principle  of  a  cabinet  governed  by 
a  party.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  new  Diet  opened  Decem- 
ber 3d  with  a  ministry  destined  to  have  a  longer  lease  of  life  than 
had  been  known  for  years.  It  was  during  the  Yamagata  premier- 
ship that  Japan  was  represented  so  brilliantly  in  China  throughout 
the  period  of  the  Boxer  uprising  and  in  China's  war  of  defence 
against  the  allies.  The  cabinet  came  to  an  end  in  September,  1901, 
after  an  unusually  long  existence  of  twenty-two  months,  making 
the  fortieth  ministry  since  1868,  and  the  last  of  the  cabinets  made 
up  wholly  or  largely  of  the  Meiji  statesmen.  The  same  old  rock 
on  which  the  Government  split  to  pieces  was  that  of  finance.  The 
new  taxation  law  had  been  introduced,  but  the  House  of  Peers  re- 
fused to  pass  it  or  to  increase  the  salaries  of  the  judges.  The  fact 
had  also  become  clear  that  the  Upper  House,  with  its  great  array 
of  matured  ability,  would  in  the  future  be  anything  but  a  passive 
member  in  the  body  politic.  In  the  deadlock  of  affairs,  the  em- 
peror was  obliged  to  intervene,  acting  on  his  own  account,  with- 
out the  signatures  of  the  ministers  to  his  decree. 

The  so-called  "spendthrift  Diet"  was  closed  March  29,  1901,  and 
the  mikado  summoned  again  the  Marquis  Ito  to  form  a  cabinet. 
This  he  did  by  gathering  around  him  young  men  of  signal  ability, 
most  of  whom  had  been  educated  in  Western  countries.  For  a  few 
weeks  all  went  on  promisingly,  but  the  same  difficulties  remained. 
For  any  cabinet,  the  task  of  carrying  the  burdens  of  unsolved  finan- 
cial problems,  owing  to  the  enlarged  post-bellum  programme,  at  a 
time  when  so  man)7  other  enterprises  were  on  foot  in  the  country, 
was  a  formidable  one.  The  problem  was  one  to  be  solved  only  by 
marked  fertility  of  resource,  much  hard  work,  and  great  patience. 
Every  one  of  the  new  statesmen,  however,  except  Mr.  Watanabe, 
believed  in  a  bold  policy  of  progress,  but  the  Minister  of  Finance 
refused  absolutely  to  advance  with  his  colleagues.  To  the  injury 
of  Japan's  financial  reputation  abroad,  he  persisted  in  his  obstinacy, 
while  during  two  or  three  months  the  illness  of  the  premier  pre- 
vented his  full  attention  to  business.  The  impossibility  of  providing 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  6(59 

the  ready  money,  with  minor  reasons,  compelled  the  resignation  of 
the  cabinet  on  May  2d.  The  emperor  then  summoned  General 
Katsura  to  organize  a  Government,  which  was  duly  installed  June  2d. 
Holding  aloof  from  parties  and  developing  an  unexpected  amount 
of  executive  ability,  the  Katsura  cabinet  has  carried  on  the  affairs 
of  the  nation  to  the  highest  satisfaction  of  sovereign  and  people, 
giving  new  stability  to  the  finances  and  prosperity  to  the  country, 
besides  negotiating  a  loan  of  50,000,000  yen,  and  securing  an  al- 
liance with  great  Britain,  of  which  we  shall  speak  again. 

To  show  that,  strictly  speaking,  there  is  in  Japanese  national  poli- 
tics no  such  thing  as  reaction,  but  that  political  men  of  all  schools 
have  their  faces  to  the  future,  differing  only  in  their  choice  of 
means,  as  well  as  to  exhibit  in  clearer  light  some  of  the  newer  meth- 
ods and  personalities,  we  shall  survey  the  course  of  constitutional 
development  in  practice  since  the  war  with  China,  which  shot  Japan 
into  the  vortex  of  competition  with  the  great  nations  of  the  world, 
compelled  movement  in  new  paths,  and  plunged  the  nation  into  a 
sea  of  difficulties  by  calling  on  a  poor  country  to  double  suddenly 
its  financial  burdens.* 

The  Progressists  were  the  chronic  implacables,  and  the  Liberals 
refused  to  support  the  post-bellum  scheme  of  taxation  formed  in 
1896,  but  in  1898  the  Progressists  and  Liberals  fused  together, 
adopting  the  name  of  the  Constitutional  Party,  and  commanding  a 
working  majority  in  the  Lower  House,  led  by  experienced  chiefs. 
Unable  to  face  this  obstacle  in  his  path,  Ito  resigned,  and  then  the 
coalition  cabinet  under  Okuma  and  Itagaki  began  its  brief  lease  of 
power.  As  we  have  seen,  the  new  people  in  power  showed  the 
same  extraordinary  anxiety  to  get  their  friends  and  relatives  into 
office  which  had  so  long  characterized  the  "  clan  statesmen." 

Furthermore,  a  new  character  had  appeared  in  Japanese  politics 
bearing  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  American  "  boss."  Educated 
in  London  and  the  United  States,  Mr.  Hoshi  Tom  learned  the  "  prac- 
tical "  methods  of  Manhattan,  and  quickly  introduced  them  into  po- 
litical life  in  Japan.  Patriotism  and  purchasability  were  soon  in 
some  quarters  considered  exchangeable  terms.  Not  approving  of  the 
combination  of  Progressist  and  Liberal,  he  hastened  from  Wash- 
ington to  Tokio  to  break  it  up.  When  the  Progressists  and  Liber- 
als, after  the  fall  of  the  Okuma  cabinet,  had  formed  on  their  old 

*  "Development  of  Political  Parties  in  Japan."  North  American  Review,  No- 
vember, 1902.  43 


670  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

lines,  with  ethics  and  policies  in  the  far  background,  they  found — or, 
rather,  Mr.  Hoshi  Torn  did — that  friendship  with  Marquis  Ito  and 
the  "  elder  statesmen  "  must  be  secured  if  victory  was  to  be  won. 
But  Ito  refused  to  adopt  the  principle  of  parliamentary  cabinets. 
Nevertheless,  a  coalition  was  formed,  called  an  Association  of  the 
Friends  of  the  Constitution  (Sei-yu  Kai),  the  chief  plank  in  its  pint- 
form  being  that  the  emperor's  ministers  were  not  responsible  to 
the  Diet.  Mr.  Hoshi  Toru,  a  man  never  choice  in  either  language 
or  method,  but  likely  to  "make  things  go,"  was  taken  in  as  the 
"  strong  man "  of  the  party.  Here  was  a  "  deal "  in  which  Mr. 
Hoshi  Toru,  for  melting  his  party  into  the  new  association,  was  to 
be  permitted  to  furnish  the  popular  elements  of  the  new  civilization 
in  economics  and  education,  while  Ito  was  to  control  the  national 
policy  in  the  Prussian  style,  as  formerly,  in  order  to  prevent  reaction 
and  to  "screen  the  evolution  of  the  Japanese  into  a  modern  man." 

In  the  Ito  ministry  formed  in  October,  1890,  all  but  himself  were, 
as  we  have  seen,  young  men  educated  abroad,  including  five  ex- 
Liberals,  one  of  whom  was  Hoshi  Toru.  The  latter  was  so  violently 
assailed  by  his  enemies  in  speech  and  the  press,  which  pointed  to 
him  as  the  source  of  corruption  in  the  Tokio  municipal  council, 
even  as  being  "  chief  of  public  robbers,"  that  Mr.  Hoshi  Tom  called 
for  a  trial.  Being  acquitted,  he  resigned  from  the  cabinet  on  the 
eve  of  the  opening  of  the  Diet. 

Nor  was  this  the  only  trouble  which  Premier  Ito  encountered. 
Such  a  new  and  wonderful  combination,  of  the  "typical  all-round 
statesman"  and  the  "strong  man"  in  "practical  politics,"  was  look- 
ed upon  with  horror  by  most  of  the  members  of  the  Upper  House, 
while  some  of  the  "elder  statesmen"  condemned  Ito's  conduct  as 
that  of  base  desertion  of  his  old  principles  and  comrades.  The 
Peers  determined  to  show  that  they  possessed  power.  It  was  a 
genuine  surprise  to  Ito  to  find  that,  having  floated  his  financial 
measures  through  the  Lower  House,  they  struck  upon  a  rock  in  the 
House  of  Peers.  To  have  recourse  to  the  emperor  to  intervene 
was,  indeed,  possible,  but  such  measures  too  often  repeated  might 
in  time  shake  the  throne  itself.  Seeing,  then,  the  dangerous  ob- 
stacle, Ito  resigned. 

Shortly  after  this,  as  Mr.  Hoshi  Toru  was  sitting  in  the  room  of 
the  Tokio  municipal  council,  he  was  put  to  death.  Mr.  Iba  Sotaro, 
a  fencing-master  familiar  with  steel  blades,  and  a  genuine  conserva- 
tive, who  had  read  deeply  in  the  ancient  Chinese  books,  of  Mencius 


PAVING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  671 

and  others,  which  recommended  the  removal  by  the  sword  of  offen- 
sive rulers,  drove  his  weapon  into  the  breast  of  lloshi  Toru.  This 
was  the  sixth  actual  assassination  and  the  ninth  publicly  attempted 
on  high  officers  of  the  Japanese  Government  since  1868.  The 
astute  judges,  instead  of  awarding  the  death  penalty  to  the  assas- 
sin, and  thereby  securing  him  posthumous  honors  from  those  who 
glorify  murder,  and  a  perpetual  decoration  day,  sentenced  him  to 
hard  labor  for  life. 

On  the  21st  of  May,  1901,  Ito  offered  his  resignation,  and  a 
month  later  the  Katsura  cabinet,  founded  on  the  imperial  principle, 
with  no  reference  to  political  parties,  came  into  power. 

Thus  in  the  constitutional  development  of  Japan  every  experiment 
except  the  coming  and  inevitable  one  of  pure  party  government  has 
been  tried,  and  every  other  theory  tested.  There  has  been  govern- 
ment by  the  "elders"  or  clan  statesmen,  independent  of,  and  in  co- 
alition with,  a  party;  government  independent  of  the  "elders,"  or 
by  a  party  in  combination  with  a  section  of  them,  and  again  by  one 
section  independent  of  the  other ;  in  other  words,  every  form  of  oli- 
garchy, all  ending  in  failure.  Not  while  the  elder  statesmen  in  num- 
bers or  power  lived  was  real  party  government  to  exist.  Neverthe- 
less, the  principle  of  government  by  party,  of  a  cabinet  obedient  to 
parliamentary  mandate,  has  been  recognized,  and  the  embodiment 
of  the  principle  in  actual  government  is  sure  to  come. 

The  House  of  Representatives  which  finished  its  career  on  March 
9,  1902,  was  the  only  one  which  had  lived  the  full  length  of  its 
legal  life,  though  this  it  did  without  doing  great  honor  to  the  cause 
of  parliamentary  government.  As  to  age,  67  members  were  in  their 
thirties,  153  in  their  forties,  and  16  in  their  sixties.  As  to  educa- 
tion, 16  were  graduates  of  law  schools,  15  were  from  Fukuzawa's 
University,  and  20  from  other  universities,  including  9  educated 
abroad.  Fifty  others  had  what  would  be  called  a  good  Japanese 
education.  The  new  law  of  elections  went  into  operation  for  the 
first  time  in  August,  1902,  greatly  decreasing  the  number  of  candi- 
dates, working  to  the  advantage  of  minor  constituencies,  and  requir- 
ing a  secret  ballot.  At  the  polls  there  was  commendable  order. 
Though  nearly  all  stood  for  election,  only  about  one-fourth  of  the 
members  of  the  old  House  were  returned.  For  the  first  time  one 
party — the  Ito  Association  of  Friends  of  the  Constitution — dominated 
the  situation,  not  only  with  a  majority,  but  with  a  plurality  above 
all  groups,  the  Sei-yu  Kai  having  192,  the  Progressists  104,  the  In- 


072  T-H£  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

dependents  59,  and  the  Imperialists  20  seats.  The  results  of  the 
election  showed  also  a  minority  so  respectable  in  numbers,  strong 
in  organization,  rich  in  abilities,  and  under  such  astute  leadership 
as  to  compel  the  Ito  party  to  be  both  wise  and  moderate.  The 
policy  required  of  any  good  government  is  that  of  sound  finance 
and  popular  content  at  home,  with  power  to  curb  Russia  on  the 
Asian  continent,  or  at  least  to  retard  the  movement  of  the  Muscovite 
glacier,  so  that  Japan  may  have  her  share  in  holding  the  markets  of 
the  world. 

Two  measures  of  international  interest  have  been  carried  to  com- 
pletion by  the  Katsura  cabinet.  They  are  the  Anglo-Japanese  al- 
liance, and  the  reference  of  the  troublesome  question  of  the  house- 
tax  upon  foreigners  to  The  Hague  Tribunal  for  arbitration.  On  the 
30th  of  January,  1902,  the  mikado's  minister  in  London,  Mr.  Haya- 
shi,and  King  Edward's  Principal  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Af- 
fairs, Lord  Lansdowne,  signed  the  convention  which  was  announced 
to  the  Imperial  Diet  on  February  12th. 

"  The  governments  of  Japan  and  Great  Britain,  actuated  solely  by 
a  desire  to  maintain  the  status  quo  and  general  peace  in  the  extreme 
East,  being  moreover  specially  interested  in  maintaining  the  inde- 
pendence and  territorial  integrity  of  the  Empire  of  China  and  the 
Empire  of  Corea,  and  in  securing  equal  opportunities  in  those  coun- 
tries for  the  commerce  and  industry  of  all  nations,"  agreed,  in  a 
five  years'  compact  of  six  articles,  to  work  together  in  peace  and 
war  to  maintain  Japan's  special  rights  in  Corea  and  of  Great  Britain 
in  China,  and  to  work  together  for  peace  in  the  Far  East.  With 
the  genera]  tenor  of  this  compact  the  United  States  is  in  full  moral 
accord. 

The  Imperial  Diet  was  opened  on  December  6,  1902,  by  the  em- 
peror in  person.  Mr.  K.  Katabka,  president  of  the  Doshisha  Uni- 
versity in  Kioto,  was  made  presiding  officer  of  the  Lower  House, 
in  which  the  burning  questions  of  revenue  and  expenditure  were 
at  once  opened.  The  programme  of  the  Government  for  increasing 
the  revenue  so  as  to  provide  for  the  naval  increment,  the  develop- 
ment of  the  railway  system,  and  for  other  public  works,  was  by  in- 
creasing the  land  tax  and  proceeding  as  rapidly  as  seemed  wise.  In 
the  Diet,  the  representatives,  seemingly  eager  to  gain  the  favor  of 
the  agricultural  and  military  classes,  were  bent  on  keeping  the  land 
tax  as  it  was  and  on  quickly  increasing  the  navy.  The  ministry 
and  the  united  parties  were  at  odds  as  to  the  ways  and  means.  In 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  673 

order  to  defeat  the  Government,  a  close  relationship  had  been 
formed  between  the  Sei-yu  Kai  and  the  Progressists,  and  once  more 
the  old  comrades  Okuina  and  Ito,  so  long  political  opponents,  were 
united  in  harmony.  In  conferences  of  the  premier  with  the  Mar- 
quis Ito,  as  head  of  the  Sei-yu  Kai,  some  compromise  was  effected, 
but  nevertheless  a  collision  between  the  Government  and  the  new 
party  was  inevitable. 

Concerning  the  land  tax,  it  may  be  noted  that,  before  1873,  the 
agricultural  classes  paid  in  taxes  13,000,000  koku  of  rice,  which  at 
present  market  rates  would  mean  130,000,000  yen,  or  $65,000,000. 
Japan  having  adopted  the  gold  standard,  a  yen  is  worth  fifty  cents. 
In  1902  the  national  land  tax  was  but  7,000,000  koku,  or  70,000,- 
000  yen,  yet,  owing  to  the  increase  of  population,  the  actual  tax, 
comparatively  speaking,  paid  by  the  farmers  is  less  than  40,000,000 
yen — scarcely  a  severe  burden. 

Three  weeks  of  intense  political  excitement  followed  the  begin- 
ning of  the  "deadlock."  It  was  soon  evident  that  the  Upper 
House  had  become  the  stronghold  of  the  "  elder  "  statesmen,  among 
whom  there  seemed  a  determined  and  organized  effort  to  keep  the 
younger  men  out  of  power.  It  appeared  equally  clear  that  most  of 
the  newly  elected  representatives  were  actuated  by  the  one  idea  of 
overthrowing  the  "clan  oligarchy."  This  was,  indeed,  the  leading 
motive  of  every  political  party  organized  since  the  inception  of  the 
constitution.  The  word  "clan,"  however,  had,  by  1902,  become  a 
mere  cant  expression.  It  deserved  to  fall  into  oblivion,  for  Japan- 
ese clans  had  long  since  become  the  ghosts  of  history.  The  real 
question  at  issue  was  whether  the  nation  or  the  emperor  should 
choose  the  ministers  of  the  Government.  The  wish  and  will  of 
"the  people,"  called  into  being  by  the  constitution,  had  now  to  be 
first  consulted  even  by  cabinets  appointed  by  the  mikado.  In  a 
word,  the  struggle  between  constitutionalism  and  unconstitutional- 
ism,  between  conservatism  and  liberalism,  was  nearing  a  crisis. 

Yet  the  situation  had  peculiar  features.  In  the  Lower  House  the 
representatives  of  the  people,  fresh  from  their  elections,  insisted 
that  the  ministers  should  vacate  their  offices  and  allow  the  national 
policy  to  be  carried  on  and  the  patronage  to  be  dispensed  by  the 
middle-aged  and  younger  men  of  the  country.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  House  of  Peers,  instead  of  being,  as  formerly,  considered  a 
political  nonentity,  had  not  only  become  a  formidable  bulwark  of  the 
throne  and  of  conservatism,  but  had  also  won  the  respect  and  con- 


674  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

fidence  of  the  nation  at  large,  especially  of  the  commercial  and 
manufacturing  classes,  and  to  a  degree  far  exceeding  that  awarded 
to  the  Lower  House. 

The  Japanese  Upper  House  is  very  different  in  composition  from 
the  British  House  of  Lords,  which  is  made  up  of  hereditary  nobles 
and  the  bishops  of  a  political  church.  The  House  of  Peers  in 
Tokio,  on  the  contrary,  has  among  its  328  members  only  53  who 
sit  by  hereditary  right — namely,  14  princes  who  are  relatives  of  the 
mikado,  11  other  princes,  and  28  marquises.  Of  the  remaining 
members,  119  are  elected  by  the  counts,  viscounts,  and  barons;  111 
are  imperial  nominees,  or  men  who  have  reached  distinction  be- 
cause of  eminent  services  or  attainments ;  while  45  represent  the 
highest  tax-payers  in  the  various  prefectures.  Such  a  body  might 
with  justice  claim  to  speak  on  behalf  of  the  wealth  and  intelligence 
of  the  country,  with  even  greater  authority  than  the  Lower  House. 

The  attitude  of  the  Government  was  firm.  The  premier,  knowing 
well  that  he  had  in  hand  those  latent  resources  of  force,  which, 
however,  when  too  often  invoked  shake  even  thrones,  remained  im- 
perturbable. The  will  of  the  emperor  was  in  reserve,  and  the  in- 
strument of  "  punitive  dissolution  "  could  be  used  to  discipline  the 
uncompliant  Lower  House,  some  members  of  which  were  only  too 
ready  to  deal  lightly  with  grave  affairs  of  state,  and  almost  jauntily 
to  force  the  premier's  hand. 

The  Budget  Committee  of  the  united  parties,  acting  with  secrecy 
and  precipitance,  made  their  onset  December  16th.  After  a  long 
debate  in  the  House,  and  a  speech  from  Count  Katsura,  who  in- 
vited the  committee  to  reconsider  their  proposed  action,  one  of  the 
party  directors  rose  and  vehemently  attacked  the  Government.  The 
closure  was  moved,  and  the  House  was  about  to  vote,  when  a  mes- 
sage from  the  emperor  was  received,  proroguing  the  House  for  five 
days,  or  until  the  20th  of  December. 

The  responsibility  of  the  secret  and  sudden  action  of  the  Budget 
Committee  surprised  not  a  few  excellent  men  of  both  parties,  and 
the  action  was  evidently  done  in  anger.  It  was  the  deliberate  cast- 
ing down  of  the  gauntlet  in  favor  of  ministerial  responsibility  to 
the  Diet  and  not  to  the  throne,  and  a  challenge  to  the  Government 
to  do  its  worst.  The  defiance  was  accepted.  On  the  20th,  the 
prorogation  was  ordered  to  continue  seven  days  longer. 

When  on  Sunday,  December  28th,  the  House  met  again — no  ses- 
sion being  held  on  Sundays  except  under  extraordinary  circum- 


FACING   THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY.  675 

stances — it  was  evident  that  the  great  party  had  become  even  more 
implacable.  Its  members  were  determined  that  the  cabinet  must 
be  overthrown  unless  it  yielded  at  every  point.  The  imminent 
question  was,  would  the  House  of  Representatives  be  dissolved  or 
the  ministry  resign  ?  It  is  believed  that  the  Privy  Council  met  also 
to  consider  certain  questions  submitted  by  his  Majesty,  after  he 
had  fully  understood  the  situation. 

At  the  meeting  on  Sunday,  December  28th,  the  premier  ascended 
the  rostrum  to  address  the  House.  He  urged  mutual  concession 
and  consultation,  the  necessity  of  naval  increment,  and  increase  of 
the  land  tax.  He  had  no  sooner  ceased  speaking  than  Mr.  Take- 
tomi,  Progressist,  made  a  speech  declaring  that  the  ministry  did 
not  deserve  the  confidence  of  the  country.  Another  member,  who 
charged  the  parties  with  setting  their  own  interests  above  the  in- 
terests of  the  nation,  attempted  to  argue  in  favor  of  the  land-tax 
bill,  but  failed  to  obtain  a  hearing.  Mr.  Ooka  then  moved  the 
closure.  As  the  house  was  about  to  vote,  the  president  announced 
that  a  message  had  been  received  from  the  emperor.  Thereupon 
the  whole  House  arose  amid  vehement  clapping  of  hands.  The 
president  then  read  aloud  the  message:  "  In  accordance  with  Article 
VII.  of  the  constitution,  We  hereby  order  the  dissolution  of  the 
House  of  Representatives."  This  mandate  elicited  a  fresh  outburst 
of  hand-clapping,  and  the  House  dispersed  amid  cries  of  Minto 
Banzai!  ("Hurrah  for  the  people's  party!")  In  such  fashion 
took  place  the  sixth  dissolution  of  the  House  within  twelve  years. 

It  was  ordered  that  the  new  elections  should  take  place  March 
1st,  the  day  set  for  the  opening  of  the  Fifth  National  Exhibition 
of  Arts  and  Manufactures  in  Osaka ;  the  Diet  to  assemble  early 
in  May. 

Amid  these  political  disturbances — the  growing-pains  of  consti- 
tutional Japan,  whether  we  call  them  "sentimental  squabbles"  or 
grave  disorders  that  are  weakening  the  throne  and  injuring  Japan's 
financial  credit  abroad — it  is  well  to  note  the  steady  advance  of 
education,  the  preparations  for  a  census  on  modern  scientific  prin- 
ciples, and  the  deepening  of  the  conviction  among  thoughtful  Jap- 
anese that  the  old  cults  do  not  furnish  sufficient  moral  sanctions, 
and  that  Christianity  only  can  do  this.  One  who  keeps  himself  fa- 
miliar with  the  native  modern  fiction  sees  most  clearly  the  move- 
ments of  the  popular  mind.  Making  romance  the  vehicle  of  their 
teaching,  Japanese  novelists  have  begun  to  instil  the  nobler  ethics 


676  THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE. 

of  Jesus,  thus  profoundly  influencing  the  masses  and  reinforcing 
the  message  of  the  alien  missionaries,  who  are  in  overwhelming 
majority  from  the  countries  in  which  the  English  language  is  the 
mother-tongue.  These  lost  a  good  friend,  as  Americans  a  fellow- 
citizen  of  honored  character  and  abundant  service,  in  the  United 
States  Minister,  Alfred  E.  Buck,  who  died  December  4,  1902. 
Count  Sano,  hero  of  peace  and  virtual  founder  of  the  Red  Cross 
Society,  died  three  days  later,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years. 

On  December  7,  1902,  a  celebration  was  organized  to  signalize  the 
thirtieth  anniversary  of  the  famous  edict  of  the  Supreme  Govern- 
ment Council  in  July,  1872,  which  directed  that  all  classes  of  the 
people  should  cultivate  their  minds,  and  that  elementary  schools 
for  the  instruction  of  the  whole  nation's  young  folk  should  be  or- 
ganized in  every  part  of  the  empire.  The  speech  of  Baron  Kikuchi, 
Minister  of  Education,  showed  that  ideal  and  actualization  were 
still  far  apart.  Instead  of  the  eight  universities  then  planned,  only 
two  had  actually  been  organized.  Of  the  256  middle  schools  set  down 
on  paper,  the  actual  number  was  222.  Instead  of  the  total  of  53,- 
760  elementary  schools  contemplated,  only  27,076  were  in  existence. 
The  attendance  of  children  of  the  school-going  age  at  elementary 
schools  in  1902  was  93.75  per  cent,  in  the  case  of.  boys,  and  81.84 
in  the  case  of  girls,  being  an  average  of  88.07,  which  figure, 
though  still  below  what  was  desirable,  affords  ground  for  congratu- 
lation. On  the  other  hand,  the  many  technical  schools  now  in 
operation  had  not  formed  a  part  of  the  original  plan.  Already, 
too,  the  educational  influence  of  the  Japanese  upon  their  neighbors, 
the  Chinese,  is  beneficially  felt  in  the  Middle  Kingdom.  Repaying 
the  debt  of  former  ages,  the  Japanese  are  surely  leading  their 
brethren  in  China  "  into  the  younger  day." 

So  moves  forward  the  nation  that,  thirty  years  ago,  took  for  its 
motto,  "  Education  is  the  basis  of  all  progress." 


INDEX. 


A  in  Japanese,  pronounced  as  a  in  arm.  See 
also  under  Ha. 

Abacus.    See  Illustration,  281. 

Abba  Sidotti,  262,  263. 

Abbot,  394. 

Abdication,  114, 122. 

Ablutions,  92,  9T,  98,  606. 

Aborigines  of  America,  29,  31,  299,  579-581. 

Aborigines  of  Japan,  26-35,  55,  65,  68-70,  86, 
87,  105,  206. 

Absent-minded  man,  496. 

Abusive  names,  512  (note). 

Actors,  87, 455,  515. 

Acupuncture,  206,  207. 

Adams,  Mr.  F.  O.,  author  of  "  History  of  Ja- 
pan," 573,  586,  593, 595,  607. 

Adams,  Will,  261,  262. 

Adoption,  277, 584. 

Adzuma,  72,  264,  265,  362. 

Agate,  603. 

Age  of  persons,  58,  60,  93,  449,  600. 

Agricultural  class,  106, 107,  280,  600. 

Agriculture,  49, 106, 107,  523,  578,  605-607. 

Aidzu,  Prince  of,  309,  310,  313,  411,412. 

Aind,  26-35,  55,  206,  565. 

Akadzuki,  3!>9. 

Akamngaseki.    See  Shimonoseki. 

Akamatsu,  564. 

Akechi,  231,  238,618. 

Alaska,  15,  579. 

Albino  ponies,  382. 

Alcock,  Sir  Rutherford,  305,  349,  369,  594, 595. 

Aleutian  Islands,  117,  579,  580. 

Alkali,  356. 

Almshouses,  550. 

Alphabets,  91,  92, 162. 

Alum,  603. 

Ama.    See  Nun,  and  139  (note). 

Amakusa,  253. 

Amaterasu,  45, 47,  48,  50,  553. 

Amber,  603. 

America,  relations  with  Japan,  29,  31,  299, 
324,  579-581, 591.  See,  under  Perry,  United 
States. 


America,  P.  M.  S.  S.,  550. 
American  geographical  names,  329. 
Americans  in  Japan,  327-352, 533, 545-54$, 550, 

561,  577,  578,  605,  607. 
Amethyst,  603. 
Amiria,  252. 
Amulets,  228,  440.     . 
Amusements.     See  Games,  Sports,  Theatre, 

Cards. 

Ando,  155, 156. 
Angels,  384,  489. 

Animals,  domestic,  23-25,  111  (note). 
Animals,  wild,  24,  420,  542. 
Anjiro,  249. 
Antimony,  22,  602,  603. 
Autisell,  Thomas,  Dr.,  19  (note),  26  (note). 

605. 

Antokn,  134, 136,  139  (note),  188. 
Aqueducts,  286,  394. 
Arabic  numerals,  591. 
Anita,  83. 
Arbitration,  567. 
Archers,  121, 136, 137,  388. 
Archery,  226.  227,  388. 
Architecture,  89,  90,  392-398,  532,  533,  563. 
Area  of  Japan,  17,  605. 
Armor,  219,  220. 
Armorer,  132. 

Armorial  bearings.    See  Crests. 
Arms.    See  Military  weapons. 
Army,  104, 105,  595-597. 
Arrows,  33,  121,  136,  137,  189,  190,  227,  388, 

422,  575;  poison,  35. 
Arsenic,  550,  602,  603. 
Art,  92,  94,  V23,  334,  388,  389,  390,  398,  581, 

582. 
Artisans,  46,  53,  280,  281 ;   guilds,  227,  512, 

600. 

Artists,  92, 123,  379,  388,  522. 
Asakura,  419  (note). 
Asakusa,  4S5-48S. 
Asama  yama,  21. 
Asano  family,  275. 
,  Ashikaga,  154, 188, 189, 192,  249,  309. 


678 


INDEX. 


- 


Ashikaga  Takauji,  156, 182, 183, 184, 185, 180, 

190. 

Ashikaga  Yoshiaki,  230. 
Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,  351. 
Aspects  of  nature,  25,  55,  83,  132,  154,  4T3, 

477. 
Assassinations,  121, 148,  222,  231,  309,  346,  349, 

362,  374,  377, 574. 

Association  of  ideas,  449,  581,  582. 
Asters,  436. 

Aston,  Mr.  W.  G.,  quoted,  213. 
Atago  yarna,  239,  374, 435. 
Atsumori,  145. 
Augury,  46,  449,- 531,  582. 
Augustinian  friars,  250. 
Austin,  Don.     See  Koninhi, 
Avalanches,  540,  542. 
Awa,  131,  329,  573. 
Awabi,  521. 
Awaji,  44. 
Awodo,  149. 
Awomori,  608. 
Ayuthaya,  246. 
Azai,  241,  242. 
Azaleas,  436,  565. 
Aztec,  299,  580. 
Azuchi  yama,  231,  233. 

B,  from  the  Japanese  h  or/,  by  nigori,  or  iu 

combination. 
Baboon,  582. 

Baby,  32,  354-356,  444,  472,  570. 
Bacchus,  488. 
Backgammon,  458. 
Badgers,  521. 
Bakin,  478. 

Bakufu,  141,  296,  349,  444. 
Ball,  game  of,  209,  455,  456,  529,  530. 
Bamboo,  23,  132,  359,  365,  417,  418,  432,  441, 

514,  519, 531,  537,  582. 
Banishment,  115, 116,  121, 127, 148, 151. 
Bank-notes,  pictures  from,  121,  136,  153, 155, 

180. 

Banks,  591. 
Banner  of  Taira,  136 ;  of  Minnmoto,  136  ;  of 

Nitta,  154 ;  of  Hideyoshi,  238 ;  of  lyevagfl, 

220,  228,  207,  315. 
Barbers,  334. 
Bark,  33,  46,  89,  90. 
Barley-sugar,  380. 
Barriers,  68  (note),  206.    See  Gates. 
Barrows,  28,  245,  269,  545. 
Bates,  Mr.,  549. 
Baths,  64,  77,  94,  446,  549,  550. 
Battledore  and  shuttlecock,  455. 
Bay  of  Yedo,  70,  329,  330. 
Beans,  49,  420,  427,  454, 469. 
Beards,  31,  32,  93,  217,  523 ;  cuts,  37,  62,  664. 
Beds.  423. 


Beef,  472,  607. 

Beggars,  358,  513. 

Beggary,  abolition  of,  552. 

Bellows,  365. 

Bells,  88,  200,  201,  206,  290,  381, 433, 479. 

Benkei,  206,  458. 

Beri-beri.    See  Kakke. 

Bette.  373,  374,  546. 

Betto,  236,  353,  359,  427,  512, 574. 

Binzuru,  385. 

Bird  s,24,177. 

Bisharnon,  190. 

Biwa,  Lake,  177,  414,  415,  419. 

Black-eyed  Susau,  359. 

Blakiston,  Captain,  26  (note). 

Blacksmith,  46,  365. 

Blind  men,  495,  509,  511,  600. 

Boats,  31,  63,  331,  332,  360,  408,  409,  427, 521. 

BOzii,  41. 

Bombardments,  309,  311,  350,  592,  594. 

Bombay,  P.  and  O.  S.  S.,  329. 

Bonzes,  162,175, 198,  204,  207,  231-235, 250,  253 

379,  426,  470,  510,  513,  525,  538. 
Botany,  22. 
Bows,  226. 
Bread,  260,  448. 

Breakfast,  424,  355,  409,  410,  544. 
Breath-sucking,  211  (note),  22'2 
Breech-loaders,  246,  411,  5-J4,  573, 596. 
Bridgeford,  Captain,  26  (uote). 
Bridges,  44,  354,  563. 
Brinckley,  Lieutenant,  533  (note). 
Brocade,  315,  562. 
Bronzes,  199,  203,  423. 
Brooks,  Hon.  Charles  Wolcott,  579,  580. 
Brown,  Kev.  S.  R.,  160,  263. 
Brunton,  Mr.  R.  H.,  608. 
Bryan,  Mr.  S.  W.,  591. 
Buddhism,  80,  84,  114,  158,  175,  198,  228,  251 

297,  554,  555. 
Bugs,  157. 
Bund,  330,  353. 
Bungalows,  330,  370. 
Bungo,  248,  249,  250,  253. 
BniiiS,  586. 

Burial,  92,  437,  438,  439,  468. 
Burmah,  246. 
Butchers,  332,  357,  472,  607. 

C.    See  under  K  or  S. 

Cactus,  386. 

Calendar,  113. 122. 

California,  299,  579-581. 

Camellia,  265,  290,  333,  428,  436, 510,  514, 566. 

Camphor-trees,  190,  455,  576. 

Canals,  419. 

Candles,  446,  447. 

Cannon,  243,  257,  408,  411. 

Cape,  King,  328. 


INDEX. 


679 


Capital,  M,  ItO,  ill. 

Caproii,  General  Horace,  19  (note),  660,  606, 

607,  619  (note). 

Cards,  428,  430 ;  games,  466,  467. 
Cars,  197  (note),  212.    See  Railway. 
Carp,  463,  439,  o!7. 
Carpenters,  46,  227,  357,  365,  443. 
C'arts,  332,  333. 

Carving,  33,  94, 157,  203,  2S8-290,  523. 
Cash,  243,  332,  355,  360,  496,  687,  611. 
Castira.    See  Spwiije-cake. 
Castles,  217,  283,  392,  393,  545,  547,  550. 
Catapults,  177. 

Cats,  128, 449,  451,  487,  495,  502,  505,  509. 
Cemeteries,  287,  290,  346,  513,  514. 
Censer,  382. 
Censors,  295,  299,  587. 
Census,  174,  600,  601. 
Centennial  Exposition  of  the  United  States, 

576,  592,  598. 
Centipedes,  550. 
Cereals,  48,  608. 
Chamberlain,  116, 527. 
Character  of  the  Japanese,  65,  106, 107,  251, 

257,  312,  343,  539,  542,  550,  569,  570. 
Charcoal,  22,  33, 356,  519,  549. 
Charity,  369. 

Charlevoix  quoted,  247,  263. 
Checkers,  458,  503. 
Cheese,  505.    See  Beans. 
Cherry  blossoms,  384,  582. 
Chess,  458. 

Children,  354,  421,  429,  437, 452-465. 
Children's  books,  491,  492. 
Children's  games  and  sports,  452-465. 
Chin  (lap-dog),  209,  210. 
China,  176,  186,  242, 418,  552, 572,  575,  576. 
Chinese,  54,  58,  242,  452,  453,  473,  512,  572,  576, 

600.    See  Preface. 

Chinese  in  Japan,  331,  338,  351,  352,566,  567. 
Chishi,  600. 

Chishima  (Kuriles),  601.    See  Map. 
Chiuzenji,2S4,  285. 
Chopsticks,  221,  470,  514. 
Choshin  clan,  267,  269,  277,  301,  309,  310,  311, 

312,  313,  321,  593-595. 
Choteki,  183, 1S4,  310,  313,  315. 
Christianity,  247-263,  578. 
Christians,  native,  243,  247,  263,  266,  531,  562, 

573, 578. 

Christmas-day,  537,  538. 
Chronology,  59, 122, 123,  599. 
Chrysanthemum,  67,  384,  582,  608. 
Cipango.    See  Jiparujii. 
Cities  of  Japan,  392. 
Civil  officials,  103,  110,  116,  141,  196  (note), 

214-216,  526. 
Civil  wars,  119, 122, 130-139, 151, 154-157, 182- 

196,  230-235,  238-240,  266-269,  316-319,  575. 


Civilization,  59,  75,  80-84,  292,  318-324,  362, 

572,  579,  590. 
Clans,  216,  217.    See  under  names  of  military 

families. 

Clark,  Mr.  E.  W.,  527,  546,  547,  548. 
Classes  of  society,  280,  540,  552. 
Cleanliness,  97,  356. 
Climate,  25,  588,  590. 
Clocks,  546. 

Clogs,  118,  370,  372,  468,  482. 
Cloistered  emperor,  120, 134. 
Clothing,  90,  106,  107,  208,  331,  361,  366,  570, 

383,  384,  427,  520,  524,  534,  546,  560,  562-565, 

572,  596. 

Cloud-cluster,  49,  58,  69. 
Coal,  516,  602-605. 
Coasts  of  Japan,  18,  25,  56,  405,  608. 
Cobalt,  603. 
Cocks,  46,  618. 
Cocks,  Mr.  Richard,  261. 
Codes  of  law,  361,  362,  568,  569,  583. 
Coinage,  40,  286,  547,  607,  608,  610. 
College.    See  Imperial  College, 
College  of  Engineering,  307,  602. 
Columbus,  247. 
Commandments,  96, 194, 195. 
Commerce,  63,  246,  597. 
Compradores,  338. 
Conchs,  220,  269. 
Concubines,  108,  556,  557. 
Confucianism,  80,  S3, 160,  297,  557,  559. 
Conquerors,  28,  55,  68-70,  75,  91. 
Conquest  of  ancient  Japan,  28. 
Consul,  United  States,  349,  402,  568. 
Consulate,  United  States,  331,  333,  349. 
Consuls,  349,  350,  376,  567. 
Contracts,  402,  577. 
Convents,  199. 
Coolie  traffic,  566-567. 
Coolies,  331,  355,  360,  361. 
Coopers,  357,  365. 

Copper,  22,  111  (note),  199,  201,  602-605. 
Copperas,  603. 
Corea,  63,  79,  S3,  241-246,  286,  324,  364,  571, 

57G. 

Cormorants,  209. 
Comes,  Rev.  Mr.,  383. 
Corpse,  468. 
Cosmogony,  43-^5. 
Cotton,  91,  230,  361. 
Councils,  103,  140, 149,  286. 
Court  noble,  93, 101-114, 216,  217,  321. 
Courtesans,  139,  555,  556. 
Cranes,  381. 
Creation,  43,  44. 

Cremation,  175  (note),  198.  ^37,  513,  514. 
Crests,  imperial,  66,  67,  271,  274,  275,  410. 
Crime,  568. 
Criminals,  568,  569, 600. 


680 


INDEX. 


Crocodiles,  511. 

Cross  of  Satsuma,  274, 

Cross-trauipliug,  257. 

Crow,  58,  44S,  449,  506. 

Crucifixion,  255,  554. 

Crystal,  381,  479,  603. 

Cuckoo,  581. 

Cucumbers,  481. 

Curios,  351. 

Currents,  27,  579-581. 

Curtains,  102, 114, 141,  211, 212,  353, 398, 410. 

Custom-houses,  332,  349,  364  ;  receipts,  598. 

•Cutlery,  224, 225,  357,  422. 

Cuttle-fish,  415,  521. 

Cyclopedias,  41,  78  (note),  247  (note). 

D,  from  t,  by  nigori,  or  in  combination. 

Dai  Butsu,  199,  200. 

Dai  Jo  Dai  Jin,  103, 119,  309,  598. 

Dai  Jo  Kuan,  103, 577. 

Dai  Kokn,  49,  425. 

Dai-kon.    See  Radishes. 

Daimio,  217,  321,  322,  402,  403. 

"  Dai  Nihon  Shi,"  40, 122  (note),  298. 

Dai  Nippon,  17,  85. 

Dairi,  197. 

Daizaifu,177. 

Dancing,  47,  48,  53,  378, 456,  528, 529, 573, 618. 

Dannoura,  135. 

Daruma,  458-460. 

Darwinian  theory,    9,  542. 

Datte  family,  274,  586. 

Dnzaifu.    See  Daizaifu. 

Deaf  men,  496. 

Debt,  national,  598. 

Decima.    See  Deshitna. 

Deformed  persons,  472,  570. 

De  Long,  Hon.  Charles  B.,  340,  573. 

Dentist,  469. 

Departments  of  government,  103,  104,  577, 

598. 

Deshima,  240,  257,  258,  260, 566, 602. 
Dewa,  74,  142. 
Dezima.    See  Deshima. 
Dice,  456. 

Dickens,  Charles,  533. 
Diet,  90. 

Dikes,  531,  571,  605,  60T. 
Dinner,  340,  341,  423,  424,  542,  543,  548,  550. 
Diplomacy,  foreign,  347, 348, 349, 350, 377, 592, 

595. 

Dirk,  221,  222,515,534 
Diseases,  258,  259,  410, 670,  571. 
Disinheritance,  584. 
Divination,  46, 148. 
Divinity  of  the  mikado,  36,  59,  88,  94,  95,  562, 

566. 

Divorce,  557. 
Dixon,  Dr.  Walter,  quoted,  263, 683. 


Do,  or  circuits,  65,  84.    See  Map. 

Doctors,  207,  571.    See  Physicians 

Dogs,  33,  209,  358,  390,  451,  468,  471. 

Dominicans,  250. 

Dosha,  207. 

Dosia.    See  Do-sha. 

Dr  in  Japanese  words.    See  under  M. 

Dragoii,  49,  381,  425,  478-480,  582,  616. 

Dreams,  472. 

Dress.    See  Clothing. 

Dual  system  of  government.    See  Duarchy. 

Duarchy,  140, 146, 182, 185, 186. 

Ducks,  wild,  420,  422,  M7,  537. 

Dumb  persons,  600. 

Dungeons,  165, 184. 

Dutch,  254,  257,  258,  311,  319,  431,  571  (note), 

577,  593,  596,  602. 
Dwarfed  trees,  384,  386. 
Dyers,  365,  509. 
Dynasties,  185, 187. 

B,  pronounced  as  e  in  prey;  before  a  final 

liquid,  or  double  consonant,  as  e  in  men. 
Ear-monument,  245. 
Earthquake-fish,  486. 
Earthquakes,  21,  477,  486, 647,  589. 
Eastern  Japan,  68-70,  391,  392. 
Ebisu,  28,  29,  52. 

Echizen,  Prince  of,  305,  307,  308,  313. 
Echizen,  176,  271,  272,  276,  300,  307,  310,  313, 

586, 587. 

Eclipses,  52,  471,  472. 
Edicts,  369. 

Edinburgh  and  Yedo,  279. 
Education,  150, 199,  200,  202,  205,  294,  297,  371, 

373,  558-561,  563  (note),  573,  578. 
Eels,  496. 

Eggs,  494,  517,  527,  528. 
Elephant,  479. 
Elephantiasis,  570. 
Elves,  494,  495. 

Ema,  Lord  of  Hell,  387,  389,  507. 
Embassies,  63,  83,  84,  176,  195,  242,  250,  323, 

324,  572,  576. 

Embassy  of  1872,  25,  323,  324, 540, 550, 572-574. 
Bmori,  Mr.,  403,  530,  531. 
Emperors,  list  of,  123. 
Empresses,  list  of,  123. 
Enamel-ware,  203,  546. 
English,  254,  261,  262,  341,  342,  343,  577. 
Enomoto,  319,  564. 
Enoshima,  154,  404. 
Entails,  277. 
Eructation,   11  (note). 
Escheat,  585. 

Espionage,  295,  349,  369.    See  Spies. 
Eta,  279,  324,  540,  567. 
Etiquette,  210,  211,  218,  222-226,  618.    See 

Manners. 


INDEX. 


681 


Eto  Shimpei,  563, 5T4,  675. 
Eurasian  children,  361,  352. 
Evenings,  456. 
Evergreens,  22,  23,  359. 
Execution  ground,  361. 
Executions.    See  Laws. 
Exile,  115,  127,  148,  256,  305.    See  Banish- 
ment. 

Extra-territoriality,  316,  572. 
Eyes,  29,  30,  208  (note),  442,  444,  455. 

P,  for  words  in  Dutch  books,  or  in  writings 
copied  therefrom,  see  under  H,  or  A.  In 
foreign  books,  /  or  ff  is  often  inserted,  or 
made  terminal  in  a  Japanese  word  which 
ends  in  an  open  vowel.  Thus  Shikoku 
and  Hokusai,  appear  as  Shikokf,  Hokflfsai, 
etc. 

Faces,  Aino  and  Yamato,  29,  30,  401. 

Falconry,  209,  280. 

Families,  noble,  101-114. 

Family,  584,  585. 

Family  names,  109. 

Famine,  195,  513. 

Fans,  87,  518-520,  527,  529,  548. 

Farmers,  106, 107,  513,  600. 

Fauna,  24,  581. 

Faxiba.    See  HMeyoshi. 

Feast  of  Dolls,  460. 

Feast  of  Flags,  463. 

Female  characters  —  Tatara,  68;  Yamato 
hime,  61 ;  Jingu  kogo,  chap.  viii. ;  Haruko, 
81 ;  Tokiwa,  123 ;  Tadamoii's  wife,  125, 
126;  Masago,  126;  Tomoye,  135  (note); 
Taigo,  137  ;  Tokiko,  137  ;  Tamayori,  170 ; 
Kadoko,  183 ;  Ise  no  Taiyu,  210  ;  Murasaki 
Shikibu,  212  ;  Shibata  Katsuiye's  wife,  238, 
240  ;  Adzuma  girl,  265. 

Female  divinity,  45. 

Fencing,  432,  433. 

Feng  Shuey,  473. 

Festivals,  92,  97,  520,  525,  526,  538. 

Feudalism,  57,  58,  94,  95, 104,  214-228,  270-290, 
583-585. 

Feuds,  216,  217,  222,  223. 

Filial  piety,  123, 124,  147,  555. 

Fillmore,  President,  329,  347. 

Finances,  573,  574,  598. 

Finger-nails,  467,  469. 

Firando.    See  Hirado. 

Fires,  375,  398,  471,563. 

Fire-clay,  603. 

Fire-lookouts,  286. 

Fire-omens,  471. 

Fire-proofs,  310,  356,  370,  368,  394. 

Fire-works,  521. 

Fish,  24,  25. 

Fishermen,  328,  329,  521,  622,  546. 

Fishing,  70,  JO?,  470, 52.1. 


Fish-ponds,  397,  436. 

Flag  of  Japan,  national,  362,  536,  564. 

Fleas,  544,  650. 

Flies,  505,  528. 

Flint  and  steel,  356,  357,  364,  446,  603. 

Flirting,  211  (note). 

Flowers,  23,  384,  386,  387,  397,  514,  681. 

Fogs,  589,  505. 

Folk-lore,  491-503. 

Food,  23,  24,  49,  90.    See  Diet. 

Foot-ball,  148. 

Foreigner-haters.    See  Jo-i. 

Foreigners,  327-352, 493,  513, 549, 578,  60C,  615. 
|  Forests,  22,  418,  543,  548. 
1  Forfeiture,  585. 

j  Formosa,  218,  257,  258,  571,  572,  575, 576. 
|  Fortifications,  179, 362,  407. 

Fortune-tellers,  505. 

Forty-seven  rOuius,  362, 400. 

Fox  myths,  495,  580,  582. 

Foxes,  420,  495,  503. 

Franciscans,  249,  254,  255,  256,  409. 

Francis  Xavier,  249,  250,  251,  412. 

Freeman,  Captain,  J.  H.,  328. 

French,  259,  261, 331 , 346,  350,  351, 383,  399, 577. 

French  relations  with  Japan,  331,  593-596. 

Frogs,  508. 
I  Fuchiu,  422, 547. 
j  Fudai,  275,  394,  403,  585,  586. 

Fuji  san,  or  Fuji  yama  (mountain),  18, 142, 
330, 374,  404,  415,  472, 530,  546,  582. 

Fuji  River,  132. 

Fujiwara,  109,  115,  116,  150,  237,  270. 

Fukui,  170,  189,  190,  238,  423,  536. 

Fukui  Han,  418, 526,  587. 

Fukuwara,  120, 135, 406. 

Fukuzawa  Yukichi,  192  (note),  320,  400,  548. 

Funerals,  438, 439,  513. 

Fusan,  243,  580. 

Fushimi,  240,  266,  313, 408, 411-413. 

Fushimi  uo  Miya,  563. 

Fusi  yama.    See  Fuji  san. 

Futen,  484. 

G,  pronounced  hard.  From  k  by  nigori, 
or  in  combination.  Few  pure  Japanese 
words  begin  with  <j. 

Gambling,  344,    50,  369. 

Games,  209,  210,  452-465, 529, 530. 

Gardeners,  384-386. 

Garlic,  73. 

Gas,  illuminating,  21,  333, 384. 

Gates,  206,  219,  394,  411,  421, 427. 

Gate-keepers,  436,  441. 

Gazetteers,  41 ;  of  Echizen,  176,  419,  422. 

Geese,  425, 447, 449,  537, 582. 

Geiho,  469. 

Geisha,  209,  408,  418,  526,  573. 

Gen.    See  Minamoto. 


682 


INDEX. 


Genghis  Khan,  145. 

Genji.    See  Minamato. 

Genji  and  Heike,  458,  464,  492, 529. 

Genji  Monogatari,  212. 

Geography  of  Japau,  17-25,  56,  6S-T4,  84,  85, 
329,  360, 3<J1,  392,  411)  (Hole), 596, 601, 607, 60S. 
See  Map. 

Geology  of  Japan,  18, 19,  602-605. 

Germans,  247  (note),  331,  332, 399, 571  (note). 

Ghosts,  138,  460-473. 

Ghouls,  492,  493. 

Gifn,  267. 

Girdles,  354,  359,  379,  408, 416,  470. 

Glass,  448. 

Glass-sponges,  521. 

Globe-trotters,  339. 

Go,  honorary  prefix.  See  under  letters  fol- 
lowing go. 

Ooa,  249. 

Goat,  582. 

Goddesses,  44-53,  553. 

God-letters,  92. 

Go-Daigo,  152, 182, 183, 184, 189. 

Gohei,  46,  285,  410. 

Go-Kameyama,  192. 

Gokenin,  277. 

Go-Komatsu,  192. 

Gold,  602-605,  608. 

Golden  fish,  546. 

Golden  gutter,  410,  411,  546. 

Goldsborough  Inlet,  262. 

Gompachi  and  Komurasaki,  400. 

Gongen,  198,  284. 

Goroza,  230. 

Gosauke.    See  SanM. 

Go-Shirakawa,  119, 134. 

Goto  Shojiro,  312, 317, 322,  574. 

Gotoba,  134, 151. 

Gourds,  238. 

Government,  58,  94, 103, 104, 577, 878, 598. 

Gray,  Dr.  Asa,  24. 

Griffin,  340. 

Grigsby,  Prof.  W.  E.,  583. 

Guard-honses,  363,  H76,  410,  550.    See  Gates. 

Guards,  105, 133.     See  Bette. 

Gun-ken  system,  103, 104,  577,  600. 

Gunpowder,  248,  258,  362, 513. 

Guns,  248,  258. 

H.  In  Dutch  and  Portuguese  books  /  oft- 
en takes  the  place  of  h.  See  under  F.  In 
combination,  or  by  nigori,  becomes  b,  f, 
or  p. 

Hachiman.    See  Ojin  Te,nnr>. 

Hnchimnn,  temple  of,  131,  410, 411. 

Hachimau  Taro,  117. 

Hachijo,  121. 

Hair,  31,  217,  329,  354,  431, 432  (note),  471,  508, 
620,  523. 


Hakama  (kilt  or  loose  trowsers),  366,  370,  413, 

534. 

Hakodate,  590. 
Hakkenden,  478. 

Hakone,  Lake,  64;  Pass,  206, 548. 
llakuzan,  18,  21, 514,  530,  532. 
Hamamatsii,  392, 546. 
Han,  clan,  or  local  feudal  government,  418, 

425, 522,  535  (note),  586,  587,  600. 
1  I  !anc ura,  4  4-416. 
Hand  or  head  kerchief,  107  (note),  201,  211 

(note),  355. 
Haori  (dress-coat  embroidered  with  crests), 

504, 534. 

Hara-kiri.    See  Seppuku. 
Harbors,  25,  329-331,  348,  352,  363,  405,  406, 

419,  608. 
Hare,  582. 
Harima,  250. 

Harris,  Towusend.Hon.,  283, 348, 401,577, 595 
Harnko,  36  (note),  80,  81. 
Hashiba.    See  HideyoM. 
Hashimoto  Sanai,  306  (note). 
Hashimoto,  Dr.,  306, 514, 535. 
Hashimoto  village,  409. 
Hatakeyama  Yoshinari,  399. 
Hatamoto,  270,  403,  586, 587. 
Hats,  355,  356,  357,  372,  426,  511, 546. 550. 
Hatoba,  331, 349. 
Hawaii,  567,  579-581. 
Hawking,  209. 
Hawks,  409. 

Hayashi,  Dai  Gakti  no  Kami,  303, 304. 
Headache,  389. 
Head-dress,  397.    See  Hair. 
Headless  horsemen,  537. 
Heating  apparatus,  356, 414. 
Hei.    See  Taira. 
Heike  Monogatari,  122. 
Heishi.    See  Taira. 
Heir,  choice  of,  64,  557,  584. 
He"ko,  Mr.,  548  (note),  580,  581. 
Helmets,  219,  366,  423. 
Hemi  village,  262. 
Hemp,  46,  422,  449,  531. 
Hepburn,  Dr.  J.  C.,  160, 577,  588-590. 
Hero-worship,  87,  88, 160. 
Heron,  24, 177,  511. 
Hibachi.    See  Heating  apparatus. 
Hidenobu,  266. 

Hidetada,  256,  284,  2S5,  289,  290. 
Hideyasfi,  272,  419  (note),  436. 
Hideyori,  245,  255,  25(5,  266,  284. 
Hideyoshi,  230,  236-246,  254,  255,  270,  410, 435. 
Higashi  Kuze,  317. 
Higo,  42  (note),  274,  277,  523. 
Hikone,  231,267,  310. 
Hildreth,  247  (note),  256,  271. 
Hime,  61  (note). 


INDEX. 


Himeshima,  893. 

Ilium,  280,  540. 

Hiogo,  120, 133, 190,  312,  393, 405, 406. 

Hirado,  254,  256,  261. 

Hiragana,  162, 174,  492. 

Hirata,  300. 

Hiroshima,  392,  394. 

Hirozawa,  312. 

History,  materials  of,  36-42,  298,  299. 

Hitotsubashi,  563  (note).    See  Keiki. 

Hinga,  55. 

Hiyeizan,  134,  232,  233. 

Hizen  clan,  321,  571,  575,  586. 

Hoffman,  Dr.  J.  J.,  quoted,  59. 

Hoffman,  J.  J.,  59  (note). 

Hogs,  382,  420,  543,  580. 

H5J6  family,  127, 128, 146-157, 165-181,  404. 

Hojo  of  Odawara,  217,  265. 

Hojo  Tokimasa.    See  Tokimasa. 

Hokkaido,  601,  605, 607. 

Hokke,  classic,  285. 

Holidays,  453.    See  Festivals. 

Hollanders,  258-260,  512  (note).    See  Dutch. 

Hoknsai,  30,  91, 107, 223,  236,  333,  357,  360,  365, 

379,  416, 426,  441,  442,  447,  487,  524,  528. 
Homio,  114,  288,  514. 
Homiira,  350. 
Hondo,  17, 18, 19, 27,  28,  29,  69,  84,  85, 106, 602- 

605. 

Honen,  145, 170. 
Honey,  510. 
Hongs,  337,  338. 
Honnoji,  231. 

Honor,  code  of,  156, 157,  191, 192,  221-225,  569. 
Horseback  game.    See  Polo. 
Horses,  340,  365,  366,  382,  427,  471,  512,  516, 

522,  619. 

Hosokawa  family,  274. 
Hosokawa  Yoriyuki,  193. 
Hospitals,  346,  400,  571. 
Hotels,  283,  414, 544,  550. 
Hot  springs,  21. 
Household  customs. 
Houses,  ancient,  90,  420,  435  ;  number  of,  600. 

See  Yashiki. 
Hiibner,  Baron,  349. 
Hunting,  537. 

Hymn,  national,  387,  524,  565. 
Hymns,  Christian,  351,  577. 

I,  pronounced  as  i  in  machine ;  before  a  final 
liquid,  as  i  in  tin.  For  names  in  Dutch 
books,  see  under  Y  or  E. 

I  (rank),  139  (note). 

Ibuki  yama,  73,  207,  231. 

Ice,  589. 

Idols,  387,  388, 510,  526, 541. 

Idzu,  121, 129, 164,  405. 

li,  Kamou  no  Kami,  305,  307,  401,  550. 


Ike  Island,  243. 

Ikeda,  230. 

Ikegami,  165. 

Ikko.    See  Shin  sect. 

Immortality  of  the  soul,  97, 161, 555. 

Imperial  College  of  Tokio,  117  (note),  370-375, 

562, 563. 
Inaka,  488, 578. 
Lnaniura  Saki,  154. 
Incense.    See  Censer. 
Indemnities,  311,  350,  377,  401,  575,  592-595. 
India,  34  (note),  111  (note),  159, 164, 174, 175. 
Indians  of  North  America,  29,  31,  299 ;  origin 

of,  579-581. 
Indigo,  531. 

Informers,  369.    See  Spies. 
Ink-stone,  390,  512. 
Inns.    See  Hotels. 
Inland  Sea,  55,  56,  57, 118, 119, 120. 
Inquisition,  252,  259,  263. 
Insects,  157,  550. 
Insurrections,  58,  65,  76, 105,  215, 216, 473,  575, 

606. 

Intemperance,  526. 
Interpreters,  213, 401, 548. 
Iris,  359. 

Iron,  22, 125,  602-605. 
Iron  Duke,  ship,  567. 
Irrigation,  63,  64,  90,  417,  418. 
Irving,  Washington,  524  (note),  537.   See  Rip 

Van  Winkle  myths. 
Ise,  Mr.,  523. 

Ise  (shrines),  61,  73,  99, 179, 181. 
Ishida,  255.    . 
Ivory,  364,  502. 
Ivy,  439. 

Iwabuchi,  401,  402,  412,  422,  428,  440,  516,  Wft 
Iwakura  Tomomi,  312,  313,  321,  322,  399,  400, 

527,  573,  574. 

lyemitsu,  256,  285,  286,  287. 
lyemochi,  Prince  of  Kii,  289,  305,  312. 
lyesada,  273, 305. 
lyeyasu,  230, 244, 255-257, 264-269, 270-272, 275, 

276,  280-286,  287,  323, 547,  583-585. 
lyeyoshi,  273. 
Izauagi,  44. 
Izanami,  45. 

J,  derived  from  chi  or  shi  by  nigori,  or  in  com- 
bination.   See,  also,  under  Y,  E,  or  Z. 
Jamestown,  United  States  corvette,  593. 
Japonica.    See  Camellia. 
Jealousy,  451, 475, 557. 
Jean  Baptiste,  262,  263. 
Jenghiz  Khan.    See  Genghis  Khan. 
Jesuits,  197,  247-263, 293, 409,  57;. 
Jewels,  46,  50. 
Jews,  35,  337,  346. 
Ji.    See  Shi. 


684 


INDEX. 


Jimmn,  40, 51, 55, 56, 5S,  59. 

Jin  Qi  Kuau,  103. 

Jiugu,  75-84,  406. 

Jinko  tree,  400. 

Jiu-riki-sha,  334,335, 54S,  570. 

Jito,  141. 

Jipangu,  247. 

JodO  sect,  162, 233,  290. 

Jo-i,  316, 373, 440. 

Joss-sticks,  3SO,  387, 498. 

Journey,  439,  467, 471. 

Judges.    See  Laws,  Oka. 

Jugglers,  519, 525. 

Junks,  136,  419,  579-581. 

Jun-shi,  92,  272,  273. 

Jurisprudence.    See  Laws. 

Justice,  department  of,  103.    See  Laws. 

K  becomes  g  by  nigori,  or  in  combination. 

Ka.    See,  also,  Kua. 

Kadoko,  183. 

Kadzusa,  131,  329,  573. 

Kaempfer,  56  (note),  293, 414. 

Kaga,  241,  530, 586.    See  Maeda. 

Kago,  264, 366,  544. 

Kagosbirna,  249, 302,  309,  377,  592,  563. 

Kai  Taku  Shi,  26  (note),  31,  605,  607. 

Kakke,  548  (note),  570. 

Kama-itachi,  482, 483. 

Kamakura,  131, 140, 143, 155, 156, 165, 176, 184, 

241,  261,  404. 
Kame  Ido,  400. 
Kami,  43,  72.    See  Shinto. 
Kami-shimo,  525,  534. 
Kano,  pictures  of,  479,  522. 
Kamo  River,  240. 
Kampira,  469, 474. 
Kanagawa,  346,  348,  349. 
Kauda  MiO  Jin,  188,  454, 493. 
Kanda,  188. 
Kanda,  Mr.,  400. 
Kanazawa,  in  Sagami,  150,  404. 
Kaolin,  603. 
Kappa,  481,  482,  525. 
Karafto.    See  Saghalin. 
KarOs,  310,  399,  403. 
Kawhiwabara,  57. 
Kafutera.    See  Sponge-cake. 
Katagana,  16,  162,  608. 
Kato  Hiroyuki,  320. 
Kato  Kiyomasa,  163,  220,  228,  243,  274,  311, 

315,  322. 

Katsii  Awa,  302,  303,  548, 664,  574. 
Katsuki  Keguro,  575. 
Katsuiye.    See  Shibata. 
Katsuyama,  536,  686. 
Kawasaki,  359,  360. 

Keiki,  274,  305,  310,  312,  313,  314, 315, 370. 
•Lernperman,  Mr.  P.,  96  (note). 


Ken,  or  prefectures,  526,  577,  578,  600.     See 

CMji. 

KenchO,  538,  598. 
Kerai,  217. 

Kerosene,  420.    See  Petroleum. 
Kido,  312, 319,  324,  574. 
Kii  family,  273, 586. 
Kii  promontory,  56, 57, 405, 608. 
Kinamera  Shirato,  523. 
Kinder,  Major  T.  W.,  607. 
Kin-giyo,  451. 
Kings,  195, 196  (note). 
Kioto,  110,  111,  134,  139,  156, 174, 185,  192,  194, 

249,  294,  307,  310,  317,  318, 573, 600, 608. 
Kiri  Take,  285. 
Ki  rin,  479,  480. 
Kirishima,  50, 55. 
Kirishitau,  zaka,  dane,  gui,  262. 
Kishiu.    See  Kii. 
KisokaidO.    See  Nakasendd. 
Kisses,  208,  210. 

Kita  Mandocoro,  241.    See  Azai. 
Kitchen,  445, 446. 
Kites,  221,  458. 

Kiushiu,  19, 42, 255, 277,  601,  604, 605. 
Kiyomidzu,  242. 
Kiyomori,  118, 119, 120, 133, 157. 
Koban,  425, 506. 
Kobe,  405, 406. 
KObO  Daishi,  162, 175,  284. 
Kodzuke,  72  (note). 
Kogen,  188, 189. 
Kojiki,  39,  42,  51,  54. 
Kojima  Takanori,  152, 153. 
Koku,  273-275,586,  605,  606. 
Kokura  clan,  277,  309. 
Kokushiu  duimiOs,  141,  274,  275,  288  394  39V 

407. 

Komatsu,  312. 
Komei  TennO,  36, 303, 312. 
Kominato,  163. 
Kouishi,  243, 244,  255,  267,  269. 
Kosatsu,  259, 362,  368,  369,  418, 573. 
KOshi  no  kuni,  42  (note). 
Kotatsii,  414, 41 6,542. 
Kuambaku,  109, 196  (note),  237. 
Kuanimu,  232. 
Kuan-gun,  184,  233. 
Kuanon,  378. 
Kuanrei,  194. 

Ktianto,  68, 117, 129, 141, 142,  393. 
Kublai  Khan,  176, 177. 
Kubo  sama,  193,  196  (note). 
Kudan  zaka,  374. 
Kuge.    See  Court  noble. 
KugiO,  148. 

Kumagaye.    See  Naozane. 
Kumamoto,  523. 
Kuno  Zan,  284,  285,  296. 


INDEX. 


685 


Jiriles,  17,  32,  24C,  5T9,  680. 

.uro  Shiwo,  '25,  27,  299,  679-581. 

iurodn  family,  274. 

^uroda  Kiyotaka,  676. 

lusakabe  TnrO,  430,  431. 

.usanojiro,  177. 

iusmnoki  Masashige",  152, 182, 190, 191,  406. 

lusunoki  Masatsura,  191,  219. 

aiwana,  313,  411. 

.  There  is  no  letter  I  in  Japanese.  The 
name  Liu  Kiu  is  Chinese  :  Japanese,  Riu 
Kiu.  The  Kurile,  or  Kuril,  Islands  derive 
their  name  from  the  Russian  Kuril,  to 
smoke,  from  the  active  volcanoes  on  them. 
Saghalin  is  Russian.  See  under  R. 
aborers,  132,  280,  355,  301,  393,  426,  529.  See 
Coolies. 

acqner,  99, 157,  204, 219, 220,  366,  398, 527,  549. 
ake  Biwa.    See  Biiva. 
amps,  446,  447,  460,  526. 
and,  107, 194,  216,  272,  277,  583-586,  605-607. 
,andscape.    See  Scenery. 
.anguage,  211,  212,  213,  260,  338,  580. 
,auguage,  AinO,  29,  33. 

.anterus,  stone,  or  bronze,  273,  287-290,  381, 
507. 

,anterns,  paper,  375,  439,  495,  507,  528,  541. 
,avatory,  288,  380. 
,aws,  149,  369,  508,  569,  583-585. 
,a\vyers,  569. 
,e;id,  002-005. 
,ecky,  Mr.,  197,  259. 
,egacy  of  lyeyasu,  583-585. 
.egation,  340,  400,  401,  567, 598. 
legends,  491-503.     See  Mythology. 
.eprosy,  570. 

.etters,  SO,  83,  91,  92, 162,  212, 213, 
libraries,  111,  150,  431,432. 
,ies,  295,  304,  469. 
Biggins,  Rev.  J.,  512. 
jght-houses,  405,  608. 
.lilies,  132,  412. 
.ions,  510,  582. 
jips,  painted,  455. 
.lists  of  shOguns,  156, 197,  273. 
jiterature,  92,  213,  320. 
.in  Kin,  122,  248,  276,  565,  571. 
x>cks,  366. 

.longevity,  58,  60,  93, 102, 487. 
'  Lost  Tribes  of  Israel,"  35,  56  (note). 
.otus,  163,  384,  394,  437,  439. 
..ove,  208,  211,  474. 
.owder,  Mr.  J.  F.,  5S3. 
LiUcky  days  and  signs,  466-473. 
:,ncy,  Mr.  Alfred,  533. 
Ju-wen,  503. 
L.uzon,  246. 
^yman,  Prof.  B.  S.,  19  (note),  26  (note),  605. 


Mabuchi,  300. 

Macao,  560,  567. 

Macaroni,  422. 

Maeda,  241. 

Maeda  family,  274. 

McDougall,  Captain,  593. 

Magatama,  jewels,  46,  53,  93. 

Magistrates,  584.    See  Laws. 

Magnet,  509. 

Malls,  690,  591.    See  Postman. 

Maimed  persons,  472,  570,  600. 

Main  island.    See  Ho-iido. 

Malays,  26  (note),  27,  87,  246. 

Males  and  females,  600,  601. 

Mandokoro,  140. 

Manganese,  603. 

Manners,  211,  223,  224,  361,  413,  423,  428,  430, 

517,  524,  528,  570. 
Manufactures,  202-204,  224,  225,  598,  606,  607, 

608. 

Manure,  25,  546,  606. 
Maple-tree,  211  (note),  582. 
Maps,  17,  27,  55  (note),  66,  84  (note),  243,  286, 

363,  391,  392,  519,  547,  586,  588,  601,  605,  609. 
Marble,  603. 

Marco  Polo,  176, 177,  247,  249,  512. 
Maria  Luz,  ship,  567. 
Marine.    See  Xaval. 
Marriage,  32,  44,  58,  93,  94,  108,  110,  115, 117, 

277,  352,  438,  467,  552, 560,  585. 
Martyrs,  256-259,  263,  305,  306,  554. 
Maruoka,  531,  532,  586. 
Masago,  127, 147, 148, 150. 
Masakado,  187, 188. 
Masses,  Buddhist,  252,  285, 509. 
Matches,  357,  446. 
Matsudaira,  271. 
Matsudaira,  Echizeu  no  kami,  305,  308,  313, 

397, 403. 
Matsudaira,  Mochiaki,  428,  429,  525,  627,  528, 

533-535. 
Matsumae,  299. 
Matsumoto,  Dr.,  400. 
Matsnri,  513,  525. 
Matsnyama,  547. 
Maxims.    See  Proverbs. 
Mayeda,    See  Maeda. 
Mayeshima,  H.,  591. 
Meals.    See  Diet. 
Mechanical  arts,  202,  203,  225,  227,  355  -358, 

364-366,  408,  513, 516-523,  607,  608. 
Medicine,  80, 206,  207,  467,  571. 
Medusa,  Dutch  man-of-war,  593. 
Melons,  510. 
Memorial  tablets,  439. 
Mendez  Pinto.    See  Pinto. 
Merchants,  125, 132,  278,  337,  338,  426, 565, 566, 

600. 
Mermaid,  390,488,  521. 


686 


INDEX, 


Merman,  488. 

Metals,  22, 125, 199-204,  408,  602-605. 

Metempsychosis,  161, 169,  251,  390. 

Meteorology,  tables,  etc.,  588-590. 

Mexican  dollars,  332,  353,  357,  40T. 

Mexico,  299  ;  Appendix  I. 

Miako.    See  Kioto. 

Mica,  20T  (note),  603. 

Mice,  521. 

Michiari,  1T9. 

Michizane,  115, 116. 

Miidera,  134,  200. 

Mikado,  39, 101, 102, 113, 123, 185, 186, 1ST,  480. 

See  Mutsuhita. 
Mikuni,  176,  521,  522. 
Military  arts,  65. 
Military  classes,  104,  595-597. 
Military  establishment,  595-597. 
Military  families.    See  Clans,  Taira,  and  Mi- 

namoto. 
Military  government,  141.    See  Bakufu,  Mi- 

namoto. 

Military  system,  65, 104, 141,  218, 595-597. 
Military  tactics,  218,  595-597. 
Military  weapons,  59, 214,  228,  366, 595-597. 
Millet,  355. 

Mills,  410,513,592,608. 
Mimidzuka,  245. 
Minamoto  family,  109,  124,  146,  147,  148,  188, 

214,  215,  216,  270,  271,  585. 
Minatogawa,  190. 
Mineral  wealth,  22,  602-605. 
Mines,  283,  602-605. 
Mining  laws,  602. 
Miiio,  230,  392,  544,  545. 
Miuobu  mountain,  165. 
Mint,  286,  607,  60S. 
Miracle-figures,  388-390. 
Mirror,  46,  364. 
Mishima,  548. 
Missionaries,  Buddhist,  83,  159,  160, 162,  174, 

175. 
Missionaries,  Christian,  247-263,  344,  345, 577, 

578. 

Mississippi  Bay,  330,  340. 
Mitford,  Mr.  A.  B.,  quoted,  287. 
Mito  family,  273,  274,  298,  305,  394. 
Mito,  Prince  of,  298,  301,  394. 
Mito,  city.    See  ou  map,  Ibaraki. 
Mitsukuri,  320. 

Mitsuoka,  526, 536,  538,  563,  574. 
Miya,  61,  99. 

Moats,  240,  280,  370,  394,  396. 
Mochi,  455,  472, 497. 
Mom-ban,  436. 

Monasteries,  140, 199,  232,  233,  234. 
Money,  104, 286,  425, 495, 496,  547, 607,  60S,  610. 
Money-order  system,  591. 
Mongols,  176-181,  422. 


Monkey  and  crab,  493, 494. 

Monkeys,  24,  237,  382, 420,  495,  511,  542. 

Monks,  140, 199, 525. 

Mouogatari,  40,  122,213. 

Monto.    See  Shin  sect. 

Monuments,  41, 157,  200, 203,  514. 

Memorial  Stones. 
Monzeki  temple,  362,  563. 
Moon-goddess,  49, 582. 
Morality,  80,  94,  209,  515, 569,  570, 573. 
Morality  in  Yokohama,  209,  344. 
MOri  Ariuori,  100  (note),  399,  400,  576. 
Mori  family,  238, 241,  275,  309,  310,  311, 313. 
Moriyoshi,  152, 183, 184, 188. 
Mosquito-nets,  528. 
Mother's  memorial,  168, 169, 170. 
Mothers,  examples  of,  163,  164,  181, 190,  444, 

445,  502,  559. 
Mountains,  IS,  477. 
Mourning  dress,  438. 
Motoori,  100,  300. 
Moxa,  207, 468. 
MukOjima,  400. 
Mulberry,  4G,  544,  582. 
Muuemori,  139. 
Mnugero  Nakahama,  580. 
Munroe,  Prof.  Henry  S.,  19,  26  (note),  605. 
Murray,  Dr.  David,  563  (note). 
Music,  47, 523,  525. 
Muskets,  248. 

Mustaches,  31,  217, 425,  478. 
Mutsn,  126. 

Mutsuhito,  36,  38,  313,  317,  318, 400, 562-566. 
Mythical  creatures,  477-488,  525,  549. 
Mythology,  43-53,  54-58,  72,  73,  526. 

Nagare  KanjO,  168,  169, 170. 

Nagasaki,  240,  255,  256,  299,  391,576. 

Nagato.    See  Choshiu. 

Nabeshima,  586. 

Nagoya,  546. 

Nai  Dai  Jin,  103,  230. 

Naiguai,  66,  67. 

Nakamura  (soldier),  403, 404, 410-412, 423, 427. 

Nakamura  (village),  236. 

Nakamnra  Masanawo,  320,  548. 

NakasendO,  266. 

Nakatomi,  51, 103. 

Names  of  Japan,  17,  44,  59 ;  of  mikados,  113, 
123  ;  of  provinces,  42,  74,  601 ;  of  the  peer- 
age, 109;  of  families,  117,  236;  of  feudal 
families,  216,  217,  271-276  ;  of  shOguus,  156, 
197,  273  ;  of  Government  departments,  598; 
of  horses,  512 ;  of  Hideyoshi,  236,  237 ;  of 
ships,  597;  titles  of  mikado,  39;  ofshOgun, 
197,  286,  295 ;  of  daimiOs,  276. 

Nauiwa,  56,  407. 

Nantai/.an,  18,  284. 

Nauushi,  418, 428. 


INDEX. 


687 


Naozan6,144, 148. 

Kara,  110,  111,  199,  218. 

Nature,  4T3, 477. 

Naval  architecture,  136, 177,  246,  256, 419,  579, 
597. 

Naval  battles,  1?6, 137, 138, 139, 17T. 

Naval  enterprise,  246,  597. 

Navy,  343,  302,  397,  564,  597. 

Needles,  2(17,  210,  505. 

Nepotism,  110, 119, 120, 147,  577. 

Neutrality,  331. 

Newspapers,  319,  337,  342,  352, 568, 590, 591. 

New-year's-day,  340,  352,  562. 

Ng  ;  for  this  combination,  see  under  G. 

Nichireu,  163, 164, 165, 166. 

Nichireu  sect,  233,  404. 

NichizO,  166. 

Night  scenes,  447,  45C,  460,  528,  529. 

Nigori,  the  impure  or  soft  sound  of  a  conso- 
nant, expressed  in  Japanese  by  two  dots 
or  a  circle.  Chi  or  shi  by  nigori  become 
ji;  ho,  bo,  po ;  tsu,  dzu;  su,  zu;  ku,  gu; 
fo,  bo;  etc.,  etc. 

Nigrito,  86,  87. 

Nihon  Bashi,  369,  378. 

Nihon  Guai  Shi,  298,  299,  545. 

Nihongi,  39,  42,  51. 

Niigata,  873. 

NikkO,  284,  285,  287,  480. 

Sil,  M.  M.  S.  S.,  405. 

Ningpo,  195. 

Ninigi,  50,  51. 

Ni-0,  380. 

Niphoii.    See  Hondo. 

Nippon,  17. 

Nirvana,  158, 160, 161,  340,  387,  437. 

Nitsuki,  364,  365. 

Nitta  Yoshisada,  154,  155,  182,  184,  189,  190, 
404,  419  (note),  422. 

No,  Japanese  particle  of,  sometimes  omitted, 
sometimes  expressed.  E.  g.,  Fuji  yama  or 
Fuji  no  yama. 

Nobles,  93;  orders  of,  103;  families,  108; 
number,  600. 

Nv)bori,439,463. 

Nobunaga,  236,  238,  250,  270,  275,  276. 

Norimono,  417. 

North-east,  472. 

Northern  dynasty,  189, 192. 

Numadzu,  548. 

Numagawa,  Mr.,  523. 

Nuuueries.    See  Convents. 

Nuns,  139  (note),  175  (note),  199,  600. 

Nursery  rhymes,  405. 

O,  pronounced  as  o  in  bone.  O  denotes  pro- 
longed o. 

0,  prefix,  meaning  great,  large,  imperial,  39 
(note). 


(5  (king),  39  (note),  196,  295, 380. 

O,  honorary  prefix,  to  be  neglected  111  ana- 
lyzing a  word. 

5  Island,  405.    See  Oshima, 

5  Kura  ShO,  103, 104. 

Oak,  78. 

Oath,  226,  256,  286, 316. 

Obedience,  390,  465,  559,  570. 

Obik..,  65. 

Occupations,  32,  33,  63,  194, 198-208,  279-281, 
600. 

Ocean,  18,  24,  508. 

Ochre,  603. 

Odaui,  544. 

Odawara,  265,  392,  549. 

Odes. 

OdOri.    See  Tori. 

Officials,  103, 104, 140, 141, 196  (note),  295,  322, 
349,  526,  536. 

<5gaki,  267,  268,  394,  545. 

Ogasawara  Morinori,  428,  536. 

Oho.     See  0. 

Oils,  22,  446,  513. 

Oji,  374, 400,  548  (note). 

5jiu,  TennO,  79, 117, 410,  411,  419  (note),  616. 

5ka,  the  judge,  500-502. 

Okasaki,  205. 

Oki  Island,  151. 

Old,  minister  of  education,  1S72, 1873  ;  coun- 
selor of  state,  322,  586. 

Okubo,  Governor  of  Sado,  256. 

Skubo  IchiO,  315,  548. 

Okubo  Toshimiti,  302,  303,  312,  317,  318,  319, 
321,  322,  399,  574-576. 

Omens,  46,  56,  57,  64,  77,  242, 243,  267, 449, 466- 
473. 

Ometsuke.    See  Spies. 

Omi,  418,  544,  545. 

Omura,  250,  253. 

Oneida,  U.  S.  S.,  329,  592. 

Onna  Dai  Gaku.  See  "Woman's  Great  Stu- 
dy." 

Ono,  531. 

Oo,  sound  of  oo  in  boot.    See  under  U. 

Open  ports,  306, 312, 317,  348,  349,  352, 598, 599, 
604. 

Opium,  570. 

Opium  War,  418. 

Oranges,  331,  428,  430,  431, 517,  546. 

Ordeal,  92. 

Oregonian,  P.  M.  S.  S.,  404,  405. 

Origin  of  AiuO,  28 ;  of  North  American  In- 
dians, 479. 

Osei  era,  103, 104,  300,  578. 

Oshima,  121, 122, 154. 

Ota,  229.    See  Sobunaga. 

Ota  Dokuau,  264,  265. 

Otani,  255. 

Otoko  yama,  410. 


INDEX. 


Otokodate,  2T9. 
Otsu.    See  Shiya. 
Owari  family,  273,  545,  546. 
Owo.    See  O. 

Ox,  24,  382, 497,  493,  509,  580, 607. 
Oyama,  154. 

Oye  no  Hiromoto,  141, 143. 
Oye  Taku,  338. 

Ozaka,  56,  232,  233,  234,  240,  256,  266,  269,  2TT, 
313, 314, 407, 408. 

P  is  the  second  modification  of  h  or  /,  and 
the  first  of  b.  Probably  no  pure  Japanese 
word  begins  with  p  except  onomatopes, 
or  children's  words.  Double  p  (pp)  in  a 
compound  word  is  the  strengthening  of  a 
vowel  and  an  aspirate  into  two  explosives, 
a  sign  of  careless  speaking,  and  lack  of 
cultivation.  The  repetition  of  the  vowel 
and  aspirate  is  the  murk  of  good  lingual 
breeding.  Nihon  and  Yohodo  of  the  Japa- 
nese gentleman  are  far  more  elegant  than 
Nippon  and  Yoppodo  of  the  common  peo- 
ple. One  can  tell  a  person  of  cultivation 
by  this  one  sound. 

Pacific  Mail  S.  S.  Company,  327,  328,  350,  384. 

Pacific  Ocean,  327,  328,  546. 

Paddy-field.     See  Agriculture. 

Page,  428. 

Page,  Leon,  247  (note). 

Pagodas,  88, 114, 105, 175,  204,  381,  392,  480. 

Paintings,  379,  383. 

Palace,  61,  62. 

Palm-trees,  88. 

Paper,  221, 375,  5S2. 

Paper  money,  425,  598. 

Pappenberg  (island),  240, 258. 

Parental  authority,  123,  124, 147. 

Pariahs.    See  Eta. 

Parkes,  Sir  Harry,  quoted,  100,  317, 577. 

Pauloiunia  imperialis,  67, 581,  60S. 

Peach,  521, 582. 

Peachling,  521. 

Pears,  51 0,517,607. 

Pear-splitter,  220, 433. 

Pearson,  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  N.,  593. 

Peasantry,  106, 107,  255,  257, 606. 

Pease,  381,  454. 

Pembroke,  steamer,  593-595. 

Penal  settlements,  600. 

Peony,  582. 

Perfumes,  210,  520,  527. 

Perry,  Commodore,  181,303,  304,  329,  347,  348, 
577. 

Perry  island,  329. 

Persecution  of  the  Christians,  257,  531. 

Persimmons,  331,  494,  517,  543. 

Peru,  299,  566,  567. 

Pet  animals,  210,  449. 


Petitions,  110, 574. 

Petroleum,  21,  525,  546, 60c. 

Phallic  symbols,  33. 

Pheasants,  582. 

Phenix,  480,  481,  581. 

Philip  II.  of  Spain,  250. 

Philippine  Islands,  246,  257. 

Physicians,  207,  571,  505. 

Physique,  329-332, 570,  571. 

Pickapack  riding,  354,  543. 

Picnics,  205,  487,  521,  523. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  Hon.,  401. 

Pigeon,  127,  128  (note),  381, 508. 

Pilgrims,  200,  205,  252,  337,  358,  388,  406,  407. 

Pillory,  190,  309,  361,  581. 

Pillows,  423,  497. 

Pine-trees,  358,  581. 

Pinto,  247,  248,  249. 

Pipes,  30,  33, 347, 421,  423,  500,  501,  515,528. 

Pirates,  119,  246. 

Pith  dowers,  380. 

Plows,  607. 

Plum-tree  blossoms,  384,  428,  431,  582. 

Plumbago,  602. 

Poetry,  145,  210,  265,  457,  511,  519,  581. 

Police,  350,  550,  598. 

Polo,  529,  530. 

Polygamy,  32, 108,  209,  211,  241,  556,  557. 

Pope,  250. 

Population,  600,  601,  605. 

Porcelain,  423,  517,  530,  546, 616. 

Portman,  Mr.,  340. 

Portuguese,  243,  247-263, 545,  577, 602. 

Postal  cards,  591. 

Postal  statistics,  590,  591. 

Posthumous  names  and  titles,  285,  288. 

Postman,  542,  54C,  590,  591. 

Post-offices,  590,  591. 

Post-relays,  264. 

Potatoes,  355. 

Prayers,  34,  89, 92, 98, 99, 153, 156, 164, 169, 178, 

179, 181,  228,  347,  382,  410,  419,  524,  549. 
Praying  machines,  382,  389. 
Preaching,  510,  511,  523. 
Presents,  422,  430,  517,  520, 539. 
Press,  the.    See  newspapers. 
Priests.    See  Homes,  Shinto. 
Princes  of  the  blood,  109, 116,  563  (note),  565, 

590, 591,  608, 196  (note). 
Printing,  351,  492,  520,  548. 
Prisons,  165, 184,  568,  569,  572, 588. 
Processions,  139,  294,  348,  353,  464,  525,  545, 

565,  592. 

Prostitutes,  139, 105,  405,  556,  572. 
Protestant  Christians,  578. 
Proverbs,  146,  376,  437,  457,  498,  504-511,  553. 
Provinces,  names  of,  74,  601. 
Pruyn,  Hon.  Robert  H.,  401,  594,595. 
Pseudo-mikado,  188. 


INDEX. 


jllman  cars,  334. 
uneh,  The  Japan,  362. 
jus,  364,  379,  465,  469,  471. 
argatory,  169, 170,  228. 
urple,  467,  499. 

.    See  Kiu,  Kua,  or  Ka. 
11:111011.    See  Kuanon. 
narter-staff,  219. 
nartz,  603.    See  Crystal. 
nicksilver,  602-605. 
uivers,  227. 

in  ri  sounds  like  dr. 
ahbit  or  hare,  420, 495,  582. 
aces  in  Japan,  27,  86. 
adishes,  355,  409,  410,  501. 
al  Sanyo,  155,  298. 
aibiO,  570. 
aiden,  484-486. 
aiko,  491, 492. 

ailways,  343,  351,  361,  473,  514,  550,  565. 
ain,  479,  689. 
aiu-coat,  90,  265. 
anks,  103,  237,  276,  321,  323, 324. 
anters,  163. 

atification  of  the  treaties,  306,  312,  317. 
ationalists,  52,  53, 58. 
ats,  409,  449,  450. 
ebellion.    See  Insurrections. 
eception  of  Perry,  303,  304,  329,  347,  348. 
eception  at  Washington,  324. 
ed  tape,  349. 

efreshments,  428,  431.    See  Diet,  Dinner. 
egalia  of  the  Japanese  sovereigns,  50,  58, 
61, 122, 136, 139, 184. 
egents,  79, 109, 110,  244,  266,  305. 
elay  towns,  264,  422. 
elics,  40,  111  (note). 

eligion,  33,  34,  52,  61,  80,  S3, 88,  89, 92,  95,  96- 
100, 168-175,  300,  301,  323,  555,  561,  573. 
emington  rifles,  411. 
enniO,  173. 

ents  of  land,  585,  606. 
epresentative  government,  566,  574. 
esemblances  between  Buddhism  and  Ro- 
man Christianity,  252. 
evenge,  135-139,  222,  474. 
evenue,  109, 140,  273,  274,  275,  278,  598.     See 
Taxes. 

evivals  of  pure  Shinto,  300 ;   of  ancient 
learning,  298 ;  of  Buddhism,  163. 
ice,  30,  48,  49,  53, 104,  107, 143,  273,  278,  355, 
372,  381,  409,  415,  418,  423,  470,  496,  509,  515, 
523, 586,  605-607. 
ichardson,  Mr.,  359,  592. 
iddles,  465. 
iding,  366,  528,  529. 
ifles,  311, 350, 513, 596. 


Rinnoji  no  miya,  285. 

RiO,  1(4, 425.  610. 

Rip  Van  Winkle  myths,  498,  502,  503. 

Riu  Kiu.    See  Liu  Kiu. 

Rivers  of  Japan,  20. 

Roads,  267,  283,  340, 353-362,  411,  412, 417,  418, 
541-550,  608.  See  Railways. 

Robbers,  120, 140, 195,  389,  390,  546. 

RokugO  River,  360. 

Roman  Catholicism  and  Buddhism,  resem- 
blances, 252. 

Roman  letters,  591. 

ROuin,  223,  278,  307,  309,  315,  316,  373,  574. 

Roofs,  90,  286,  290,  382.    See  Thatch. 

Rooms,  205,  435. 

Roses,  505. 

Rosaries,  beads,  165,  169,  252,  379,  383,  406, 
426. 

Russians,  299,  331,  337,  348,  350,  485, 577. 

Rutgers  College,  431, 533  (note),  563  (note). 

S,  always  sibilant,  as  a  in  sip.    In  combina- 
tion, z.    See  under  J  and  Z. 
Sabae,  474,  631,  586. 
Sabbath,  426, 439. 
Sacrifices,  human,  92 ;  animals,  98. 
Sadamori,  188  (note). 
Sado,  22, 157,  283,  604. 
Sadowara,  on  map.    See  Miyozoki. 
Saddles,  427. 
Saga,  575. 

Sagami,  64,  70, 131, 132,  262, 573. 
Saghalin,  17,  299,  605, 600. 
SaigO  Kichinosuke,  302,  312,  315. 
SaigO  Yorimichi,  218,  563, 575,  577. 
Saikei,  or  SaikiO.    See  Kioto. 
Sailors,,  native,  246,  383,  493. 
Sailors,  foreign,  347,  350,  493,  542. 
Sajima,  188  (note). 
Sakadori,  537. 

Sake,  31,  207,  208,  331,  357,  488. 
Sakurada  Aveuue,  307,  394. 
Salt,  97,  387,  442, 467, 470, 511,  603. 
Salt-making,  646. 
Sama,  title,  39  (note),  237. 
Sameshima,  400. 
Samisen,  364,  408. 
Sam  Patch,  548,  580. 
Samurai,  83, 106, 108,  278,  426,  574,  600. 
Sandals,  356,  380. 
Sandwich  Islands,  579-581. 
Sanetomo,  148. 

SanjO  Saneyoshi,  309,  313,  563. 
Sanke,  273,  397. 
Sanskrit,  162, 169,  245,  387,  440. 
Sapporo,  608. 
Saratoga,  Cape,  329. 
Saris,  261. 
Sasaki  Gouroku,  424, 513, 516, 531. 


690 


INDEX. 


Satow,  Mr.  Ernest,  26,  39,  96,  100,  298,  305 

(note). 

Satsuma,  Prince  of,  302, 892,  593. 
Satsuma,  clan,  267,  269,  2T4,  276,  277,  300,  301, 

302, 312,  313, 321,  571, 592,  593. 
Savatier's,  Enumeratio,  23,  24. 
Sawa  Nobuyoshi,  309. 
Sawing,  365. 

Sayonara,  359,  413,  418,  541. 
Scenery,  57,  82,  83,  91,  112,  118,  128, 154,  205, 

418-425,  436,  437,  473,  474,  477,  478,  503,  514, 

523,  537,  541-550. 
Schools,  370-374,  431-434,  523,  538,  561,  563 

(note),  573. 
Science,  477,  478, 488. 
Scissors,  357. 
Scolding,  444,  497. 
Screens,  317,  364, 422,  523,  581, 682. 
Sculling,  33,  331,  332,  406. 
Sculpture.    See  Carving. 
Sea-god,  498. 
Seal  of  blood,  256,  285. 
Seasons,  25,  588,  590. 
Sea-weed,  25,  90,  494. 
Sects  of  Buddhism,  162, 163, 164, 175. 
Secular  emperor,  140, 185. 
Sei-i  Tai  ShOgun,  142,  274,  312,  313. 
Seki.    See  Gates. 
Sekigahara,  222,  255,  266,  267,  268,  269,  278, 

545. 

Semman.    See  Sanetomo. 
Semiramis,  French  man-of-war,  593. 
Sendai,  586. 

Seppuku,  156, 190,  221,  240,  272,  314,  511. 
Serpents.    See  Snakes. 
Servants,  342,  443-445. 
Servility,  255,  430. 
Sesamum  Orientalis,  380. 
S6to  uchi.    See  Inland  Sea. 
Settsu,  62,  409. 
Shaka.    See  Buddha. 
Sheep,  606. 

Shells,  210,  406,  407,  459,  499. 
Shem  Mon  GakkO,  538.    Incorporated  with 

the  Imperial  College,  which  see. 
Shepherd,  Colonel  Charles  O.,  401,  568. 
Shi.    See  under  Ji. 
Shiba,  287, 288,  289, 290. 
Shibata  Katsuiye,  230,  238,  239,  240,  241,  435, 

537. 

Shidzuoka,  261,  284,  304,  547, 548. 
Shiga,  413, 414. 
Shigemori,  419. 
Shikken,  150. 
Shlkoku,  113,  277, 586. 
Shimabara,  257. 

Shimadzu  family.    See  Satsuma  Clan. 
Shimadzu  Saburo,  312,  592. 
Shimoda,  348. 


Shimojo,Mr.,547. 

Shimonose'ki,  135,  139,  311,  377,  392,  575,  593- 

595. 

Shinagawa,  362. 
Shinano,  72,  267  (note),  573,  608. 
ShinnO,  187. 
Shinran,  170,  400,  538. 
Shin  sect,  170, 173, 174,  233,  234. 
Shinto,  88 ;  model  of  temple,  90 ;  festivals,  92, 

160,  251,  300,  301,  410,  411,  419  ;  shrines,  600. 
Ships.    See  Naval. 
Shiro  yama.    See  Hakuzan. 
ShOdO,  284. 
Shoes,  357. 

ShOgnn,  65, 142, 156, 197,  273,  313. 
ShOgunate.    See  Bakufu. 
Shops,  356,  364,  365,  370,  378,  379,  546, 550. 
ShOyen,  141. 

Shrines,  71,  89, 436,  600.    See  Temples. 
Shu-ten  dOji,  492,  493. 
Shntoku,  188. 
Si.    See  under  Shi. 
Siam,  111,  246. 
Siberia,  26,  27,  364. 
Sidotte,  Abbe,  262,  263. 
Silk,  83  (note),  607. 
Silver,  602-605,  608. 
Singing-girls.    See  Geisha. 
Single  combats,  189, 218. 
Sitting  posture,  31,  356,  365,  413,  421, 445. 
Six  guards,  275. 
Slavery,  570. 

Slave-trade,  244,  248,  254, 566,  567. 
Sleep,  421,423,  468,  472. 
Small-pox,  468,  470,  549. 
Smoking,  258,  347,  372,  421,  500,  501,  528,  632, 

570. 

Snakes,  58,  389,  510,  525. 
Snow,  25,  83  (note),  124,  404,  413, 420,  459,  540 

-545,  689. 

Snow-shoes,  421, 642. 
SO  family,  242. 
Soap,  356,  546. 
Social  customs,  32-34,  53,  93,  94, 105-107, 169, 

170,  208-213,  222-224,  228,  435-440,  452-475, 

556-561. 

Soil,  19,  20,  91,  296, 605-607. 
Soldiers,  366. 

Solomon,  the  Japanese,  500-502. 
Songs,  34,  47,  332, 401,  402, 432  (note),  454,  496, 

541. 

Sosanoo,  45, 48,  49. 
Sovereigns,  list  of,  123. 
Soul,  460,  472. 

Southern  dynasty,  183, 189, 192. 
Soy  (shOyu),  208,  357,  455,  496. 
Spaniards,  250,  255,  258,  677. 
Sparrows,  223,  505,  527. 
Spear  exercise,  433. 


INDEX. 


691 


Spears,  138,  219,  311, 420, 574. 

Spiders,  68, 493. 

Spies,  68,  69, 144,  296,  369. 

Spire,  381. 

Spiritual  emperor,  140, 185. 

Sponge-cake,  258,  260,  428, 51T. 

Sports,  209,  350,  462-465. 

Sportsmen,  394,  397, 549. 

Springs,  21, 128. 

Stature,  470,  596. 

Steamboat,  414,  415, 597. 

Steamships,  328,  339, 347, 575, 597. 

Steatite,  603. 

Stirrups,  366,  457,  530. 

Stockings,  373,  434,537. 

Stone  Age,  29. 

Stonewall,  iron-clad  ram,  72,  362, 597. 

Stories,  35, 490-503. 

Storks,  24, 409,  420. 

Storms,  25, 178, 188,  479, 625,  589. 

Story-tellers,  423, 491. 

Stowaways,  328. 

Straw,  90,  358, 360, 426. 

Street-cries,  333,  427. 

Street-tumblers,  332. 

Students  in  America,  57, 329, 358, 522, 523,  563. 

Succession  to  the  throne,  64, 110. 

Sucking  breath,  211  (note),  222, 524, 

Sugarn,  486. 

Sugawara,  109, 115, 116, 400. 

Suicide,  144,  156,  190,  221,  240,  315,  473,  556 

(note). 

Suido,  188  (note). 
Sujin,  60-67. 
Sulphur,  21,  602-605. 
Sumida  River,  131,  378,  482. 
Sumpu,  547  (note).    See  Shidztioka. 
Sunday,  260,  402,  426. 
Sunday-schools,  351,  426. 
Sun-goddess,  48. 
Sun-worship,  56,  97,  580. 
Superstition,  25,  466-468, 570. 
Surface  of  the  country,  17-25,  63,  64,  218,  220, 

411,  412,  596. 

Surgeons,  221,  306  (note),  375,  571  (note). 
Suruga,  64,  69, 131,  132,  230,  265,  284,  370,  374, 

415,  547,  548,  573. 
Snruga  dai,  374, 599. 
Sutras,  203. 
Suwo,  250. 

Suzume,  47,  48,  53,  491. 
Swans,  397. 

Sweetmeats,  359,  422,  517, 548. 
Sweet-potatoes,  355,  517, 546. 
Sword-racks,  372,  415,  434,  550. 
Swords,  49, 69,  154,  155,  221-225,  366,  370,  374- 

376,  509,  525. 
Symbolism,  50,  53, 160,  227,  425,  437,  474,  488, 

487,  4S8,  581, 582,  607, 608. 


T  in  combination,  d. 

Tables,  260, 423,  424,  533,  541. 

Tablets,  289,  381,  383,  440. 

Tachibana  hime,  70. 

Tachibana,  70. 

Tadamori,  118. 

TaikO,  237.    See  Hideyoshi. 

Talkun,  273  (note),  286,  287,  295,  304-367. 

Taira  family,  109,  115-139,  188,  214,  215,  216, 

229,  230,  406,  419,  617. 
Taka  Island,  181. 
Takanawa,  362,  400. 
Takashimaya,  Mr.,  334. 
Takeda,  217. 

Takefu,  170.  419,  422, 423,  541. 
Takenouchi,  79,  419  (note). 
Takiang,  steamer,  593. 
Tales.    See  Folk-lore. 
Tamagushi,  46. 
Tametomo,  121, 122. 
Tamura,  28. 

Tancrede,  French  man-of-war,  593. 
Tanegashima,  248. 
Tanners.    See  Eta. 
Tartars,  35. 
Tartary,  176-181. 
Tatsu  no  kuchi,  177. 
Tattooing,  32,  512. 
Taxes,  63,  104,  106, 107, 140, 141, 151,  205,  217, 

698,  606. 

Tayasu  Kamenosuke,  564. 
Tea,  112,  337,  357,  360,  387,  388,  409,  410,  415, 

471,  472,  542,  599. 
Tea-crop,  599. 

Tea-houses,  358,  359,  388,  523,  542. 
Teachers,  83, 109, 150,  204,  371,  527,  563,  577. 
Teeth,  32,  80,  210,  211  (note),  359, 382,  469,  507, 

544. 

Telegraphs,  343,  350,  473,  545,  575,  60S. 
Temples,  61,  70,  79,  88,  90-97,  99, 131, 157, 173, 

199,  204,  206,  22S,  229,  232,  242,  245,  252,  284, 

285,  287-290,  378-390,  406,  410,  411, 419,  438. 
Temujin,  144  (note). 
Ten  Sho  Dai  Jin.    See  Amaterasw. 
Tengu,  469,  487. 
Tenjin,  116, 144  (note). 
TennO,  36,  39. 
Terashima  Munenori,  399. 
Terraces,  64,  90, 91,  417,  418. 
Thatched  roofs,  89,  90,  212,  328,  420. 
Theatres,  94,  407,  515. 
Thieves,  140, 195. 
Three  jewels.    See  Regalia. 
Thunder,  484,  486,  589. 
Tidal  wave,  25,  348,  477,  486. 
Tiffin,  370. 
Tiger,  506,  509,  582. 
Tiger  skins,  220. 
Tiles,  382,  394,  397, 436. 


692 


INDEX. 


Timber,  22,418,  533. 

Time,  63, 113,  421. 

Tin,  603,  605. 

Titles,  103, 197,  276,  321. 

Titsiugh,  207  (note). 

Toba,  123,  411,  412. 

Tobacco,  258,  500,  501,  570.    See  Smoking. 

Toge"  (mountain  passes),  71,  72,  267  (note). 

TOj in,  420,  512,516,547. 

TOkaidO,  346,  348,  353-362,  404,  545-549,  601. 

TOkei ;    another    pronunciation    of   TOkiO, 

which  see. 

Tokimasa,  129, 141, 147, 148. 
Tokimune,  157, 165, 176. 
TOkiO,  363-403,  550,  563. 
Tokiwa,  124,  545. 
Tokiyori,  149, 165. 
Tokonoma,  31,  219. 
Tokugawa,  67,  157,  270-274,  287-290,  294-296, 

.312,  313,  398,  547,  548,  564,  586. 
Toll,  360. 

Tombs  of  emperors,  62, 157. 
Tombs  of  shOguns,  284-290. 
Tombstones,  514. 
"  Tommy, "  401. 
Tomoye',  135  (note),  458. 
Tonegawa,  394. 
Tongue,  44, 511. 
Tops,  459. 
TOri,  366,  550,  563. 
Torii,  98,  252. 

Toronosqui.    See  Kato  Kiyomasa. 
Tortoise,  390,  436, 481,  487,  498,  605,  525. 
Torture,  569. 
Tosa,  312,  313,  586. 
TOtOrai,  546. 
Tow-path,  426, 427. 
Toyotomi,  237.    See  Hideyoshi. 
Toys,  366,  379,  452-465. 
Tozama,  275. 
Trade-dollars,  407. 

Trades,  203-205,  279,  280,  355,  366,  600. 
Travels,  149,  175,  212,  405-424,  471,  509,  641- 

550,  573. 

Treasury  department,  103, 104, 598,  608. 
Treasure-ship,  425, 472. 
Treaties,  304,  306,  312, 317, 348. 
Trees,  sacred,  473, 474. 
Tsi.    See  under  Chi. 
Tsugarii,  28,  608. 
Tsukiji,  362,  363,  550,  563. 
Tsukuba  Kan,  training-ship,  564, 697. 
Tsune'toki,  149. 
Tsuruga.  76,  79,  41^419, 608. 
Tsnrngaoka,  131, 148,  242,  404. 
Tsushima,  118, 176,242. 
Tsutsumi,  Mr.,  527,  536. 
Tnrenne,  Count,  573. 
Turnips,  227,  543. 


Twins,  468. 

Two-sworded  men.    See  Samurai,  Swords. 

Tycoon.    See  Shogun,  Tai-kun. 

Types  of  faces,  29,  30,  86,  87. 

Typhoon,  176, 178, 181,  477,  525,  579,  580. 

U,  pronounced  as  u  in  rule,  or  oo  in  boot. 

Uchida,  320. 

Uguisu.    See  Cuckoo. 

Uji,  61. 

Ukemochi,  49,  419  (note). 

Umbrellas,  356,  435. 

United  States,  relations  with  Japan,  299, 303, 

347,  400, 401,  577, 591,  593-595. 
University.    See  Imperial  College. 
Unkei,  157. 
Uraga,  261,  329. 
Urashima,  boy  of,  498-500. 
Uriu,  Mr.,320. 
Ushi  toki  mairi,  474,  475. 
Usurpation,  146, 148.    See  Bakufu. 
Uwajima,  317,  399,  518. 
Uyeno,  287,  306,  315. 
Uyesugi,  217. 
Uzume",  47,  48. 

V.    There  is  no  v  in  Japanese.    See  under  W. 

Van  Reed,  E.,  592, 593. 

Van  Valkenbergh,  General,  401. 

Vasco  da  Gama,  247. 

Vegetables,  23,  49,  203,  357, 415,  470,  607. 

Vendetta.    See  Revenge. 

Venice  of  Japan,  240.    See  Ozaka. 

Venison,  390. 

Vermicelli,  422. 

Vices,  ancient,  94. 

Vienna  Exposition,  405  (note),  564,  565. 

Villages,  27,  28,  346,  351,  600,  606. 

Virtue,  94,  209,  371,  481,  555,  556, 583. 

Visitors,  430,  467,  468,  471. 

Volcanoes,  20,  21. 

Von  Brandt,  Minister,  100  (note),  247  (not«). 

Votive  tablets,  383. 

Vows,  199,  228. 

Wages,  355. 

Wakamatsu,  315,  366. 

Wakizashi.    See  Dirk. 

Walters,  Mr.,  262. 

Waui,  83. 

War,  197. 

Wash,  494. 

Washington,  524,  546. 

Watches,  334. 

Water,  stealing,  63,  64. 

Water-courses,  63,  64,  91,  623. 

Watson,  Mr.  R.  G.,  567,  568. 

Wax,  388,  446. 

Wax-figures,  388. 


INDEX, 


693 


Wayside  shrines,  88,  89,  198,  262,  641. 

Weasel,  471,  482. 

Weather  probabilities,  44T,  469. 

Weaving,  31,  33,  46,  49,  53,  646. 

Webster  Isle,  329. 

Weddings,  438,  471,  472,  616. 

Whalebone,  458. 

Whales,  299. 

Wheat,  340,  607. 

Wheaton's  "International  Law," 399. 

Wheeled  vehicles,  114,  212,  332,  333,  334. 

Wild  fowl,  24,  132,  394,  420,  587. 

William  the  Conqueror,  585. 

Wind,  484,  589. 

Wind-imp,  483. 

Windows,  394,  448,  471. 

Winter,  25,  72  (note),  124,  404,  540,  645,  588, 

590. 

Wirgman,  Mr.  A.    See  Punch. 
Wistaria,  274. 
Wo.    See  under  0  or  0. 
Woo.    See  under  U. 
Wood-cutter,  390,  495,  503. 
Wolves,  24,  389,  540. 
Woman,  44,  75,  117  (note),  208,  210,  212,  213, 

551,  561.    See  Female  characters. 
"  Woman's  Great  Study,"  211,  212,  558. 
Wooing,  385,  523,  524. 
Wool,  606. 

Wrestling,  34R,  433,  441,  442,  519. 
Writing,  91,  92, 113, 114, 153, 162,  194,  206,  212, 

402. 
Wyoming,  U.  S.  S.,  593. 

X.  For  words  beginning  with  x  in  Portu- 
guese books,  or  those  copied  therefrom, 
see  under  Shi. 

Xavier,  249,  250,  252,  412. 

Y.    See  also  under  E. 


Yagura  (castle-towers),  414. 

Yakunin  (business  man,  official),  421, 626. 

Yama-bushi,  206. 

Yamanouchi,  586. 

Yamaoka  Jiro,  523. 

Yamashiro,  62. 

Yamato,  30,  57,  58,  65,  309,  623. 

Yamato-Dake  no  mikoto,  69, 72, 73, 419  (note). 

Yamato  damashi,  318,  435,  571,  597. 

Yamnzaki,  409. 

Yaehiki,  393,  394,  397,  398,  407,  427,  536,  563. 

Yasuke,  236. 

Yasutoki,  149. 

Yatabori,  Mr.,548. 

Yawata,  410, 411. 

Year,  divisions,  63. 

Years,  critical  in  life,  472. 

Yedo,  264,  265,  307,  318.    See  2WW5. 

Yezo,  19,  26-35,  605,  607. 

Yodo,  river,  112,  408-ilO.       / 

Yodo,  town,  411. 

Yokohama,  327-352,  399,  689. 

Yokosuka,  262,  562. 

Yoriiye,  147, 148. 

Yorimasa,  581. 

Yoritomo,  125-144,  228,  241,  293,  323,  404,  458. 

Yoshida  Kiyonari,  Mr.,  563  (note). 

Yoshida  Shoin,  305,  306. 

Yoshinaka,  134. 

Yoshitomo,  117, 121,  123. 

Yoshitsune,  34, 124,  143, 144,  206, 404,  458, 518, 

Yoshiye,  117. 

Yoshiwara,  362,  364,  555,  556. 

Yuri.    See  Mits&aka. 

Z.    See  under  J  or  5. 
Zempnkuji,  400,  401. 
Zen  sect,  162, 163. 
Zodiac  signs,  382,  580, 611. 
ZOzoji,  287,  288,  289,  290,  394. 


INDEX  TO  SUPPLEMENTARY  CHAPTERS 


Alliance  of  Great  Britain  and  Japan,  646, 

649. 

Architecture,  628,  647. 
Arisaka  gun,  606. 
Arisugawa,  587,  600. 
Army,  587,  588,  639,  640-642. 
Art,  647. 

"  Banzai,"  675. 
Beardslee,  Admiral,  659. 
Bible  in  Japanese,  617,  624. 
Bonin  Islands,  592. 


Boxer  movement,  664,  66S. 
Brown,  Dr.  S.  R.,  59B,  659,  661. 
Buck,  Col.  A.  E.,  676. 

Cabinets,  601,  648,  667,  66S.  G71. 

Chamberlain,  B.  11.,  614,  621. 

Chicago,  628. 

China,  595,  631-643,  649,  663. 

Chinese  in  Formosa,  654. 

Chinese  script,  605. 

Christianity,  599,  606,  617,  623,  624,  633,  675. 

Civil  code,  656. 


694 


INDEX. 


Clan,  673. 

Coal,  653. 

Codes,  656. 

Commercialism,  650,  666. 

Constitution,  614-616,  6T5. 

Constitutional   development,  591,  607-618, 

667-675. 

Corea,  631-638,  65  . 
Coreans,  5S1,  593-595,  645. 

Democracy,  650. 

Diet,  Imperial,   614,  615,  625,  626,  629,  646, 

650,  674,  675. 
Dutch,  621. 

Echizen,  610,  611. 

Education,  597,  605,  606,  676. 

Ethics,  652,  675. 

Expositions,  Industrial,  589,  629,  675. 

Extra-territoriality,  655. 

Feudalism,  228,  673. 
Finance,  602,  625,  629,  645,  646- 
Foreign  employes,  621,  622. 
Foreign  policy,  592,  617,  672. 
Formosa,  641,  644,  64%  654. 
Fukuzawa,  660,  661. 

Germans  in  China,  663,  664. 

Hague  Tribunal,  672. 

Harris,  Towusend,  610,  621,  642,  643. 

Hatoyama,  o57. 

Haw:iii,  661. 

Hei-min,  608,  650. 

Heir-apparent,  663. 

Hepburn,  Dr.,  598,  622,  623,  662. 

Hoshi  Toru,  629,  638,  669-072. 

House,  E.  H.,  661. 

Houses  of  Parliament.  615,  673,  674. 

Hygienic  science,  5S9,  662. 

li,  661. 

Imperial  family,  662. 

Industrial  revolution,  644,  666. 

Insurrections,  583. 

Islands,  652. 

Itagaki,  613,  629,  667 

Ito,  613,  626,  642,  646,  648,  660,  668,  673. 

Iwakura,  599. 

Japanese  abroad,  651. 
Journalism,  584. 

Kaneko,  Baron,  659. 
Katsura,  669,  672,  675. 
Keiki,  600,  659. 
Kempff,  L.,  Admiral,  664,  665. 
Kido,  585. 


Eikuchi,  Baron,  676. 
Kim  Ok  Kiun,  635. 
Kioto,  628. 
Kitasato,  657. 
Kow  Shing,  637,  638. 
Eumamoto,  5S3. 
Kurihnma.  659,  660. 
Kuroda,  K.,  593,  613. 
Kasuuoki,  658. 

Labor  Day,  651. 
Labor  unions,  650,  651. 
Land  tax,  584,  673. 
Language  study,  42. 
Law,  619,  642,  648. 
Literature,  617,  629. 
Lowder,  J.  S.,  661. 

Manufactures,  650. 

Marcus  Island,  652. 

Malsugata,  646,  647. 

Mei-Roku  Shu,  661. 

Michi  no-Miya,  633. 

Mikado,  581,  599,  613,  614,  645,  651,  663,  668, 

675. 

Mines  and  minerals,  653. 
Missionary  work,  597,  598,  624. 
Monogamy,  662. 

Monuments  erected,  582,  600,  658. 
Mori,  A.,  581,  613,  617. 

Navy,  640,  641,  648. 
Nobility,  601,  674. 

Okubo,  589,  590. 
Okuma,  613,  667,  673. 
Ooka,  675. 

Opium  in  Formosa,  654. 
Ozaki  Yukio,  667. 

Peking,  665,  666. 

Perry,   Commodore,  604,  618,  619,  621,  642, 

659,  660. 

Philippines,  648,  649. 

Political  parties,  59 1,  625,  629,  667,  668~675. 
Politics,  591,  600.  601,  607-618,  625-627,  632, 

644,  667-675. 
Port  Arthur,  631. 
Postal  affairs,  604. 
Prince  Imperial,  663. 
Princess  Sada,  663. 

Railways,  590,  603,  652 

Rai  Sanyo,  630. 

Rats,  662. 

Rin  Shihei,  582,  636. 

Rin  Kin,  593,  595,  596,  665. 

Rodgers,  Admiral,  660. 

Romaji  Kai,  605. 


INDEX. 


695 


"  Rousseau  of  Japan,"  667. 
Russia,  663,  664,  672. 

Saghalin,  592. 

Saigo  Takamori,  586-588,  658,  661. 

Saigo  Teukumicbi,  587,  661. 

Sano,  Count,  676. 

Sanyo,  581. 

Satow,  E.  M.,  643,  656,  666. 

SatBtima,  5S2,  685. 

Sei-yu  Kai,  670,  071. 

Senate,  589. 

Sendai,  657. 

Shaw,  Archdeacon,  662. 

Shirnadzu,  S.,  586,  587. 

Shimonose'ki,  642. 

Ship-building,  660. 

Siebold,  658. 

Silver  wedding,  643. 

Social  changes',  603. 

Spain,  644,  648. 

Statistics,  620,  624,  627. 

Taketomi,  675. 

Takn  forts,  641,  664,  665. 

Tien  Tain,  665. 


Tokio,  Books  on,  290. 
Tong  Haks,  633. 
Trade  of  1901,  649. 
Treaty  of  1897,  643. 

United  States  in  the  Pacific,  649,  663,  664- 

668. 

Upper  House,  615,  616,  674. 
Uraga,  619,  660. 

Verbeck,  Dr.,  598,  599,  647,  658,  662, 667. 

Wade,  627. 
Wagner,  Dr.,  623. 
Watauabe,  668. 

Yamagata,  581,  664,  668. 

Yatabe,  657. 

Yatoi,  621. 

Yedo,  Books  on,  290. 

Yezo,  593,  652. 

Yokoi  Heishiro,  610,  611,  612,  621. 

Yokoska,  660. 

Yuan,  632. 

Yuri,  612. 


THE  END 


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